NASHVILLE: Denny Hamlin tore two tendons in his right shoulder prior to the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, prompting surgery following the 2023 Cup season.
While he was sans arm sling for pictures on the red carpet on Thursday night, that was only cosmetic as Hamlin is looking at a three-month recovery period.
The procedure marks the second time the driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota has undergone arthroscopic surgery in the last four years. In both instances — on both shoulders—the 43-year-old racer has been under the care of Dr. Patrick Connor at the Charlotte Surgery Center.
However, the most recent surgery — on Hamlin’s right shoulder—was much worse than he anticipated.
“It sucks,” Hamlin said. “It sucks like you would think. It always sucks one week out.”
Hamlin was expecting a bone spur in his right shoulder—similar to his 2019 surgery on the left shoulder—but entering Las Vegas race week during the second week of October, he “popped some tendons” and couldn’t lift his arm. Ultimately, he experienced a constant grinding of his rotator cuff
Hamlin said post-surgery he received “much worse news.”
“It was hurting so bad — especially the last five to six races — that it was hindering something on the race track, so I had to get it fixed,” Hamlin added. “I knew that it was worse because at Vegas, in particular, not being able to lift my left arm.
“It’s obviously depressing when you wake up from your anesthesia and you have three months with a limp arm that you can’t do anything with. I’m a long, long way from where I need to be.”
Hamlin hopes he’ll be recuperated in time for the Busch Light Clash at The Coliseum on Feb. 4 — but there are no guarantees. With his current team of doctors, Hamlin remains optimistic.
“I find it hard to believe that I’ll have more pain in late January than what I did at the end of October, early November,” Hamlin said. “Getting through those last five races were really hard. If I can get through that, then certainly I can challenge myself to get back in a car sooner than when they would want me to.”
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