2 min read • December 27, 2021
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The Clippers will be without all-star wing Paul George for the near future as he rests and recovers from a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. The team announced on Saturday that he will miss the next 3-4 weeks before being re-evaluated.
Unlike with many pitchers, Tommy John surgery is not needed for a UCL tear for basketball players and is an injury they can play through, thus the ProBasketballDocs believe a 4-week timeline is a reasonable mark for George's return.
The bigger concern, however, is the "stingers" he mentioned feeling in his elbow in the first game back on Dec. 20. A stinger implies a nerve issue or injury, and they are more often felt at the neck or upper hip, not at the elbow. The ProBasketballDocs are concerned that this indicates instability in the right elbow where the ulnar nerve is tweaked. He could play through the injury with a sleeve or brace, but because it is his shooting elbow, his ability and production would be limited.
George initially suffered an elbow sprain on Dec. 6, an injury that would keep him out for 5 games. He returned on Dec. 20 telling reporters after the game that he endured "stingers" on his injured elbow, and played 1 more game before further tests revealed the torn ligaments.
George perviously had surgery to drain fluid in a bursa sac in his right elbow in the summer of 2018.
The 31-year-old has suffered and come back from several other serious injuries: a compound tibial fracture in 2014, and surgeries on both of his shoulders in the summer of 2019, 1 to repair a left torn labrum and 1 to repair a torn ligament in his right rotator cuff.
The Clippers are 17-15 this season, good for 5th in the West, and without both George and Kawhi Leonard, will rely on relatively unproven wings Reggie Jackson, Luke Kennard, Terrance Mann, B.J. Boston, and Justise Winslow to handle the playmaking load.
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