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Deontay Wilder to have a second procedure on his right hand

Photo by: Naoki Fukuda
Fighters Network
25
Jul

Deontay Wilder will need a second procedure on his right hand, as well as surgery on his torn right biceps before he can return to the ring, which will likely be in five or six months, manager and co-trainer Jay Deas told RingTV.com on Monday.

Wilder (37-0, 36 knockouts) shattered his hand and biceps in his eighth-round stoppage against Chris Arreola July 16 in a WBC heavyweight title defense from Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama. Another procedure was necessary on his right hand to “stabilize the hand so that the swelling will go down,” Deas said.

Temporary pins were inserted into a hand that already had pins put in from a previous injury. Wilder, 30, is presumed to have hurt his hand and bent the screws in the fourth round when he dropped Arreola.

“We hope to be back in the ring in ideal circumstances by November,” Deas said. “We’re really not missing much and are probably within a month of our schedule anyway.” Deas didn’t rule out a return by the end of the year. “But we’ll let his body dictate that,” he said.



Wilder’s hand will be examined in the coming days. If the swelling has gone down enough, he could have surgery later in the week, Deas said. “We’re probably not going to know anything definite for another day or so,” he said. The plan is to have surgery on his bicep, in which the muscle has to be reattached, and his hand at the same time to coordinate the recovery times, Deas said.

“It could serve us well because the hand will heal quicker than the bicep,” he said. “Because he can’t use it until the bicep is good it will allow him to get extra rest so I think we may get the healthiest hand that we’ve had in a long time.”

A woozy-looking Wilder posted a video of himself in the hospital after the first procedure last week on his various social media platforms. “I wanted to let you know I just got out of surgery on my hand and it didn’t feel too good,” he said with a smile. “This is one of two (surgeries), so I’m going to have surgery again for the third time. And yes, I’m under the influence of some kind of drug but I feel amazing. I’m out for a minute but I’ll be back. Don’t worry.”

Deas described Wilder as in good spirits. He took the fight with Arreola after Alexander Povetkin tested positive for a banned substance forcing their May 21 fight in Moscow to be canceled. “He’s good,” Deas said. “He’s ready to get this thing done and on the road to recovery.”

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