Michael Silver of the San Francisco Chronicle initially reported that, per general manager John Lynch, 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy was scheduled to undergo surgery on Wednesday to repair the tear of the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his right elbow, an injury suffered on January 29 in the NFC Championship Game.
Silver provided an update, noting that the surgery is now scheduled for Friday in Dallas, Texas.
UPDATE: Brock Purdy's surgery now scheduled for Friday in Dallas https://t.co/DVrja8O2of
— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) March 6, 2023
The hope is that Purdy will only require a repair and an internal brace, leading to a recovery time of six months. That may allow him to be cleared before the start of the regular season. It will cut things close, though.
The alternative is a hybrid procedure involving a reconstruction of the ligament to go along with the internal brace, and pushing his recovery into October or December, possibly putting his 2023 campaign in danger. Dr. Keith Meister will perform the surgery and determine which procedure is necessary once he opens Purdy's elbow on Wednesday.
The surgery was initially scheduled for February 22 but needed to be postponed due to inflammation in the quarterback's arm. Purdy and Meister met last Thursday, and it sounds like the situation is good enough for the surgeon to proceed with the procedure.
"With Brock, you just don't know," Lynch told Silver. "It could be six months, nine months, 13 months – there are a whole lot of scenarios, and we believe it will go well. I talked to the doctor (Thursday), and everything is on track for him to have surgery (on Friday). But you've kind of got to get in there and see what's up."
Purdy, who stepped into the starting quarterback role after Jimmy Garoppolo suffered a broken foot on December 4, finished this past season winning seven consecutive starts, including the playoffs, until his injury occurred.
Purdy finished his rookie regular season completing 67.1 percent of his passes for 1,374 yards with 13 touchdowns and four interceptions. He added 569 passing yards with three touchdowns in the playoffs but only managed four passing attempts in the NFC Championship Game.
