Advertisement

Report: Gerald Henderson will undergo hip surgery, may miss entire season

ben rohrbach
Senior NBA writer
It appears Gerald Henderson's hip problems will finally cost him a full season. (AP)
It appears Gerald Henderson’s hip problems will finally cost him a full season. (AP)

NBA teams hoping to fill their rosters with valuable role players are left without one of the better remaining options, now that Gerald Henderson’s hip problems may cost him the entire 2017-18 season.

[Now’s the time to sign up for Fantasy Football! Join for free]

The 29-year-old has opted to undergo surgery on the hip that has plagued him since he tore his left labrum in 2011 and may require a full season to recover, according to ESPN’s Chris Haynes.

“Despite receiving genuine interest from several NBA teams, I have made the decision to continue to evaluate surgical options on my left hip,” Henderson told ESPN.com. “I have been playing through severe pain that has made it difficult to play to the best of my ability. Now the pain has started to impact my everyday life off the court. My family, my agent and I are working closely with my medical team to give me all of the information I will need to make the best decision, personally and professionally. I am as competitive as they come and want to play. I will fully commit myself to getting healthy. I am thankful for the many opportunities I’ve had and I look forward to returning to playing in the NBA.”

Henderson has had two previous surgeries on the hip in his eight-year career — one in Charlotte to repair the torn labrum in 2011 and another in Portland in an attempt to shave the hip debridement (excessive bone or tissue) in 2015 — but the issue persisted last season with the Philadelphia 76ers.

When healthy, Henderson has been a productive player, averaging 11.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists, while playing stellar defense, in 535 career games. Despite the lingering injury, the former first-round pick has managed to play 68 or more games in six of seven seasons since his rookie year.

[Follow Ball Don’t Lie on social media: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Tumblr]

The Sixers waived Henderson in June, hours before he was due a $9.2 million team option for 2017-18. He remains confident he will be on an NBA roster at age 30 come 2018-19, according to Haynes.

The surgery news should put Boston Celtics fans on edge, since All-Star point guard Isaiah Thomas was forced out of the playoffs due to a partially torn labrum resulting from a right hip impingement. It’s unclear how similar their injuries are, and the Celtics recently announced Thomas will not require surgery, but the risk of re-injury remains, and nobody understands that better than Henderson.

– – – – – – –

Ben Rohrbach is a contributor for Ball Don’t Lie and Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at rohrbach_ben@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!