The University of Connecticut confirmed Thursday that freshman Amida Brimah is scheduled for surgery Friday morning to his left shoulder that will keep him sidelined until late summer.
"The surgery, a left shoulder arthroscopy, will repair a torn labrum and is expected to alleviate a condition that bothered the 7-foot freshman at times throughout the 2013-14 season," the school said in a statement. "While the condition was not severe enough to warrant surgery during the season, following a recent MRI, it was determined that it would be the best course of treatment to fully alleviate the problem. The recovery period is usually 4-5 months."
"We’ll try to do it fast, so that he can get back before the season starts,” Nana Baafi, Brimah's legal guardian, said via the New Haven Register. "He was battling with it the whole season. If he doesn’t do it, it’s gonna keep coming. So, he might as well just do it, so he can be healthy ... He could have fought through it, but it’s not advisable. His health is more important. If something else happened, it might get worse. ...
“The brighter side is, it’s better for him to come back 100 percent than to go through the whole season again 80-90 percent. But with the kind of kid he is, with his work ethic, he’ll be fine.”
As a freshman, Brimah appeared in all 40 games and averaged 4.1 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game. He was named to the AAC's all-rookie team and won conference rookie-of-the-week honors on Jan. 13.
