The Charlotte Hornets announced today that center Cody Zeller underwent successful surgery on the third metacarpal of his right hand this afternoon. The surgery was performed by Dr. Michelle Carlson of the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City.
Zeller is expected to sit out between four and six weeks as he recovers from surgery. The Hornets will certainly be looking to insert him back into the lineup as soon as possible as he is an integral part of their rotation. Zeller had started every game he was available this season and is posting near career highs in many major categories.
Zeller originally injured the hand in the third quarter of a match-up with the Orlando Magic on New Year’s Eve and opted for surgery as soon as he could. While losing the team leader in rebounds in Zeller, the Hornets are looking to maintain their incredibly average year without his contributions on the floor.
With Cody Zeller out of the lineup, the Hornets are limited in their possible replacements for him in the starting lineup. The most likely candidates would be either Willy Hernangomez or Frank Kaminsky who reportedly is on the outs in the city of Charlotte. Either way, neither of the backup big men are playing more than 13 minutes per game at this point in the season so both should see an expanded role with more center minutes to go around. All of Charlotte hopes they can keep up production and maintain the standard for Hornets’ basketball.
