By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
New Orleans Pelicans star Anthony Davis will undergo surgery to fix a partially torn labrum in his left shoulder that he says should keep him on the shelf for four to five months and out of the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Davis who has been shut down for the rest of the season, said he has been playing through shoulder pain for three years. “They told me [the shoulder surgery] eventually has to happen,” Davis said Monday. “Gradually it’s been getting worse. Something we just got to take care of now”.
Davis was one of the stand outs of Team USA’s gold medal winning team in the recent FIBA World Cup 2014 and his absence will be an issue for the American national team. He appeared to get particularly emotional when admitting that he won’t get to play in the Rio Olympics.
“That’s tough. It’s definitely tough,” he said. “Twenty-three years old. … A couple more Olympics, maybe? But it’s definitely a tough situation. I love USA Basketball, love when I was there in 2012, love when I played in the World Cup in 2014. It was definitely a tough decision, but I think everybody understands where health is more important than [being] on the floor. That was definitely one of the biggest decisions, especially because, as you guys know, I love playing USA Basketball, representing my country. So, that was definitely tough.”