Rudy Gay to miss rest of season to undergo surgery

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Big disappointment

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Memphis Grizzlies forward Rudy Gay will miss the rest of the NBA season to undergo a shoulder operation,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], jeopardizing the team's chances of making the playoffs.

The 24-year-old had already sat out more than a month of games after partially dislocating his left shoulder in mid-February and team doctors told him he needed surgery.

"There's really no brace or anything I can wear to make it better. I have to have the surgery," Gay told a Memphis newspaper (www.commercialappeal.com) on Tuesday.

Gay last year signed a five-year, $84 million deal to remain with the Grizzlies and had been one of the team's best players this season.

His loss was a major blow to the team's chances of making the playoffs. With 11 games to go, they were in eighth place in the Western Conference,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], just two wins ahead of the Houston Rockets.

(Reporting by Gene Cherry in Salvo, North Carolina; Editing by Julian Linden)