Bell May Need Season-Ending Surgery
Bobcats starting shooting guard Raja Bell’s season may be over before it started.
Bell has a partially torn ligament in his left wrist and plans to decide whether to have surgery soon.
“The way I understand it, surgery would be 6-8 [weeks] in a cast with pins and then 6-8 [weeks] worth of rehab,” Bell said.
Bell’s injury would rob the Bobcats of one of their vocal leaders and their best defensive player.
“It’s pretty disappointing to me,” Bell said. “I was looking forward to coming in and having a good season and being as healthy as I could be to start the season. In that regard, it’s a big setback for me personally.”
Bobcats forward Gerald Henderson suffered the same injury during his college days at Duke; he admitted that the injury caused a great deal of pain and that the length of the NBA season could factor into Bell’s decision.
It’ll be something he’ll have to decide on,” Henderson said.
“I think we’re not as discouraged as this thing might sound,” Bobcats coach Larry Brown said. “We’ll see what happens in the next few days and then we’ll be able to make a better decision on what the prognosis is and what the treatment will be.”
PG D.J. Augustin started in Bell’s place along PG Raymond Felton and scored 15 points in the Bobcats’ 94-87 loss to Milwaukee on Tuesday.
