Arkansas coach Eric Musselman out at least two games after shoulder surgery

The Arkansas Razorbacks improved to 11-5 overall on the 2021-22 men's college basketball season via Wednesday's 87-43 win over the Missouri Tigers. Unfortunately, they'll be without a familiar face for at least a couple of contests. 

Arkansas confirmed Thursday that head coach Eric Musselman will be sidelined for a minimum of two games after requiring an operation to repair what was referred to as a full tear of the supraspinatus tendon and partial tears to the infraspinatus and subscapularis tendons in his left shoulder. Assistant coach Keith Smart will serve as interim coach and be the team's head man for Saturday's matchup at the No. 12-ranked LSU Tigers. 

"Almost six weeks ago, Coach Musselman sustained a significant shoulder injury in practice after a collision with a player," Dr. Wesley K. Cox explained for the prepared statement. "An MRI confirmed his shoulder had torn tendons and would require surgery. The goal was to use daily physical therapy and treatment as well as a steroid injection to delay the surgery as many weeks as we could, none of which have offered any significant improvement. 

"At this time, surgery to repair the tears was necessary due to the amount of pain and instability he was experiencing and to mitigate the risk for significant complications in the future. Coach Musselman is expected to do very well and ultimately make a full recovery." 

Per the timeline, Musselman is on track to miss Tuesday's game against the South Carolina Gamecocks. The coach's status for the home contest against the Texas A&M Aggies on Jan. 22 is unclear.