Melancon to get Elbow Surgery, but Will be Back for Cheyenne
By: Justin Felisko
PUEBLO, Colo. – Cole Melancon spent the last month trying his best to battle through bone chips in his right riding elbow, but the No. 9-ranked bull rider in the world knows it is time to get surgery.
Melancon will undergo an MRI on Wednesday to see the extent of any potential further damage inside his right elbow before undergoing surgery on May 3.
“I’m tired of falling off and just need to get healthy and get my mind back in it,” Melancon told PBR.com on Monday. “All I think about all weekend is my body hurting. That makes it no fun at all.”
Melancon refused to use his elbow as an excuse for the past month, but it was clear the Sour Lake, Texas, bull rider has not been himself. The second-year PBR pro has ridden just one of his past 13 bulls, and he has bucked off 12 consecutive times.
The 27-year-old explained last month that an MRI on March 19 discovered he had floating bone chips in his elbow, but he was going to see if he could ride through the injury and get surgery during the summer break.
Melancon, who also separated his left shoulder Friday night in Nampa, was ranked third in the world standings before his elbow issue began to flare up more consistently in the last month or so. Melancon is only 7-for-32 (21%) on the Unleash The Beast this season, but four of those rides went for round victories. Melancon’s four round wins is ranked fourth in the PBR.
“I have some floating bone chips in my elbow, and that’s why I can’t straighten it all the way,” Melancon said last month. “The doctor explained it as like having a rock in your boot. He said you can go a while without it bothering you, but when it gets in the right spot, it hurts like hell. Same with my elbow. I can go a few weeks without it hurting me, and then the next weekend, it hurts so bad I don’t want to get on.”
Melancon has since decided to move up his surgery with renowned elbow specialist John Conway, and he expects to be back in time for Last Cowboy Standing in Cheyenne, Wyoming, on July 26-27.
“It should be a few weeks (of recovery),” Melancon said. “I’ll be back for Cheyenne.”
ADDITIONAL INJURY UPDATES FROM NAMPA
Claudio Montanha Jr. missed the final day of competition in Nampa because of a right thigh strain (hip adductor) he sustained in the practice pen last week, per Dr. Tandy Freeman.
According to Freeman, Rafael Henrique dos Santos missed the 15/15 Bucking Battle and Round 2 in Nampa after aggravating a pre-existing right arm injury when War Cry (2.58 seconds) bucked him off in Round 1.
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media
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