Vasyl Lomachenko Undergoes Operation – Announces Date for Boxing Return

Two days after his defeat to Teofimo Lopez, things have gone from bad to worse for Vasyl Lomachenko. After a blockbuster 12-round unification bout which Lopez won via unanimous decision, news has emerged that Ukrainian will be out until ‘Late January’ 2021. Kevin Iole from Yahoo sports was the first to break the news. After fighting with an injury, Lomachenko had surgery on the right shoulder on Monday.

The doctor that had treated Lomachenko after his previous injury in the fight against Jorge Linares spoke to Kevin Iole. He confirmed that the surgery was on the same shoulder as the previous injury. Dr. Neal S. ElAttrache also said that it would be only in Late January 2021 that the Ukrainian can start his boxing activities.

“We operated on him last night. And he had what we call a hemorrhagic thickened bursitis. That’s the tissue that lubricates and cushions the rotator cuff, which is where we had treated him and injected him before the fight.”

This suggests that Lomachenko did get through 12 rounds with an injury and discomfort in his right shoulder.

Dr. ElAttrache also added, “On the inside of the shoulder where he had previously dislocated the shoulder, he had chipped the cartilage on the inside of the socket. That was right next to the repair, so I did a small touch-up of the repair so I could cover up the bare cartilage in the front of the shoulder.”

What next for Vasyl Lomachenko?

There is some good news for Lomachenko and boxing fans. The doctor said that this procedure will affect his boxing once he is healed. Saying, “The things we did for him after the first surgery made him pain-free and his shoulder stable enough that he could go and win a couple of championships after that surgery,”

ElAttrache gave further reassurance by saying, “I wouldn’t expect he’d have any limitation after this one for what we were able to do. Not all repeat surgeries have a worse prognosis.”

So the wait for a return to boxing for Lomachenko will be longer than some fans may have hoped for. However, given the professionalism that the Ukrainian has shown in the past, there is no doubt that he will be back. At 32, some fans may question whether his body will hold up. Only time will tell if Lomachenko will return a better fighter or not.