NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The New Orleans Pelicans says front-court All-Star DeMarcus Cousins has had surgery to repair his ruptured left Achilles tendon.
The club says the operation was performed by Dr. Richard Ferkel of the Southern California Orthopedic Institute in Los Angeles, California.
Ferkel says the surgery "went very well" and that Cousins is expected to make "a full recovery and be able to return to basketball after an intensive rehabilitation program."
The Pelicans have said Cousins will miss the remainder of this season but no timeline for his return has been announced for the 27-year-old Cousins, 27, who has averaged 25.2 points, 12.9 rebounds and 5.4 assists this season and is due to become a free agent this offseason.
Dr. Steven Weinfeld, chief of Foot and Ankle Surgery at The Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, says basketball players with the same injury Cousins had usually need nearly a year of rehabilitation before playing again, and routinely up to two years before returning to peak physical performance.