Successful surgery

Schilling could reportedly make a return next season

The Big Schill may not be quite ready to ride off into the sunset.

Curt Schilling underwent successful surgery on his right arm yesterday, a procedure that included repairing a diseased biceps tendon, a SLAP (Superior Labrum from Anterior to Posterior) tear in his labrum and a slight tear in the rotator cuff.

The fruitful surgery means that the 41-year-old righty could potentially be ready to pitch by next All-Star break, but it won’t necessarily be in a Red Sox uniform.

“We had reached a point where we weren’t counting on him to come back. Obviously you never count a guy like Curt Schilling out, but we always knew this was a possibility,” said Sox General Manager Theo Epstein. “Certainly for a 41-year-old, the nature of this surgery is never a great bet [to return to pitching], but I think he’s prepared to work hard during the winter and come back for the second half of next season somewhere if he can.”

Will the Sox pursue Schilling — a free agent for next year — and allow him to finish off his career in Red Stockings?

“It’s a little premature for that,” Epstein said. “It would depend on how deep our starting rotation is, and what our needs are.”

It’s not too premature, however, to call Schilling’s 2008 season over. Dr. Craig Morgan, Schilling’s personal physician and a renowned name in the fields of shoulder and knee surgery, estimated he could begin throwing off a pitcher’s mound by January. The rotator cuff was believed to be the biggest potential roadblock to resuming his career, and the cuff’s minor repair leaves the door wide open for Schill’s return.

The 1 hour, 45 minute surgery was performed in Morgan’s home base of operations in Wilmington, Del., and the good doctor termed everything a success considering the previously unknown state of his shoulder.

“Today went well in every regard,” Morgan told The Associated Press. “The surgery went without any technical difficulties and there was none of this, ‘Oh, my God, we didn’t expect that. This is awful.’ None of that. The one thing we can’t do is make him 28 again.”