UFC
UFC Heavyweight Champ Cain Velasquez may yet require shoulder surgery
Nov 22, 2013 - 11:15:13 AM UFC Heavyweight Champ Cain Velasquez may yet require shoulder surgery

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Though it had previously been reported that Cain Velasquez's shoulder injury would not need surgery, he's not out of the woods on that front yet.

It was reported Wednesday that the injury was a torn labrum, and though his manager Bob Cook wouldn't confirm the exact injury, he did reveal in an interview with MMAJunkie.com that surgery may yet be a necessity.

"He's going in to get re-evaluated in a week-and-a-half, and at that point, we'll have a better idea," Cook said. "But it's not 100 percent one way or the other."

As for his return timetable, it's all going to be dependent on whether surgery is required or not. Still, if surgery is not needed, Cook believes the previously discussed April return could be feasible.

"I think it all depends on the injury and how he feels," Cook said. "As soon as he's good to go, he'll fight. I think if he doesn't need surgery, [April] should be a realistic timeframe. Hopefully, when the doctors look at him again, everything is doing what they want it to do, and he won't need surgery and he can get going. But if it's not progressing the way they want it to, then they're going to fix it, and he'll be out for a while."

Penick's Analysis: If surgery is required, that's another Champ on the shelf for a significant portion of 2014. While the UFC is closing 2013 out real strong, it's going to be a rough start to the new year at the same time that they're expanding the amount of events they're running. No one wants to see surgery required here, but it's all going to come down what they find out in his next evaluation.

[Cain Velasquez art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]