Elbow Surgery For Hornets' Rice

The Charlotte Hornets face the likelihood of beginning the season without leading scorer Glen Rice, who plans to have a bone chip surgically removed from his right elbow.

Rice said doctors have told him the normal recovery time following the arthroscopic procedure is 3-6 weeks, meaning that if the surgery is done this week, he could miss nearly the first four weeks of the season. An absence of that length could amount to about 20 games in what is expected to be a 50-game season.

"Not having Glen from the start will be a real challenge," Hornets general manager Bob Bass said Tuesday. "We are waiting for Glen to get some additional opinions on the injury."

Rice has averaged 21.6, 26.8 and 22.3 points in three seasons in Charlotte and is one of the best 3-point shooters in the NBA.

An All-Star in each of the past two seasons, Rice has been wearing a sleeve on his right elbow for most of the past two years. Rice, who is right-handed, didn't consider the elbow problem anything more than minor until recently, when increasing stiffness and pain prompted him to see a doctor. The bone chip was discovered by a magnetic resonance imaging test.

The injury marks the first time in his pro career Rice will be sidelined for a significant length of time. He has missed only 20 games in nine NBA seasons, and he has played 240 of a possible 246 regular-season games with the Hornets, including all 82 last season.

© 1999 SportsLine USA, Inc. All rights reserved