Pacquiao has surgery on injured shoulder, resting

Boxer Manny Pacquiao touches his right shoulder which was injured during training for his fight with Floyd Mayweather. PHOTO BY REM ZAMORA/INQUIRER

LOS ANGELES –Manny Pacquiao underwent surgery for a torn rotator cuff Wednesday morning and is back at his home in Plymouth Boulevard resting.

Eager to get the operation done and over with, Pacquiao went to a local hospital and had the “significant tear” on his right shoulder rotator cuff sewed up by a prominent orthopedic surgeon here.

According to www.mayoclinic.org, a rotator cuff is a group of muscles and tendons that keeps the upper arm firmly in place at the shoulder.

Doctor Neal ElAttrache of the Kerland Jobe Orthopedic Clinic in Los Angeles said he couldn’t be more pleased with the results and fully expects Pacquiao to resume his boxing career, a Pacquiao spokesman said.

The doctor was cited as saying that Pacquiao would be able to return to the ring “in the soonest time” possible.

Pacquiao and his family will be leaving for Manila Sunday and, upon arrival, will take a connecting flight to General Santos City.

Because of the surgery, Pacquiao won’t be allowed to do strenuous activities for five to six weeks. He will have to undergo rehabilitation therapy and is expected to recover fully between four to six months.

A doctor will be flying over to Manila monthly to monitor the healing progress of Pacquiao’s rotator cuff, which he first injured after falling off his jet ski, which got hit by a big wave, in 2009.

The operation follows Pacquiao’s unanimous decision loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. on Saturday in Las Vegas in the most lucrative fight in boxing history.

The super-fight cemented unbeaten American Mayweather as the top pound-for-pound fighter of his era.

But Pacquiao’s camp revealed after the fight that the Filipino had suffered a rotator cuff tear in training camp which he aggravated early in the bout.

The injury, Pacquiao’s decision to fight through it and questions over whether he adequately informed Nevada boxing authorities about it have combined to spawn a spate of lawsuits from boxing fans who say his “Fight of the Century” against Mayweather should never have gone ahead.

Pacquiao, his promoter, Bob Arum, and his adviser, Michael Koncz, are facing at least five lawsuits in various states for failing to disclose his injury.

Pummeling Mayweather with punches, Pacquiao re-injured his right shoulder in the fourth round and were hardly effective in the last six rounds.

As it turned out, Pacquiao re-injured it in a sparring session on April 4 and had an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) taken two days later.

The issue got muddled up after promoter Bob Arum revealed that the Nevada Athletic Commission had denied Pacquiao’s request to use pain killers for the fight projected to gross over $400 million.

NAC chairman Francisco Aguilar defended the denial, saying that there were just a few hours before the fight and there was no formal request.

Now, the NAC has tasked its lawyers to study the facts surrounding the Pacquiao case.

Pacquiao, for his part, said he’s leaving the matter to his lawyers.

Hi chief concern is to get better and, hopefully get a rematch with Mayweather. AFP

Originally posted: 7:33 AM | Thursday, May 7th, 2015

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