Ed Cooley Underwent Back Surgery on Monday

Providence fans are all very familiar with Ed Cooley’s dramatic physical transformation after dropping over 100 pounds following a weight-reduction surgery in July of 2012. Friar fans will also recall Cooley’s issues with vertigo and dehydration that flared up in both the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons. On Monday, Cooley underwent back surgery because of pain caused by a herniated disc. The news was first reported by Matt Norlander of CBSSports.com.

Norlander’s report says that Cooley “anticipates being on the sidelines in time for Providence’s season-opener on Nov. 14 vs. Vermont.” The recovery and rehab will apparently last “a couple of months.” The timing of the surgery is less than ideal, but if Cooley does make it back to full strength to be on the bench for the season-opener on November 14th then this will be much ado about nothing. On the positive side, Cooley didn’t miss any time on the road during the critical April and July recruiting periods due to the herniated disc.

Providence has some important things happening on the recruiting front next month as the Friars are scheduled to host their top 2 targets in the class of 2017 in September. Power forward Nate Watson is expected on Providence’s campus on the weekend of September 9th, while point guard Makai Ashton-Langford has his visit scheduled for the weekend of September 17th.

UPDATE 8/24/16: Providence Athletics released a statement regarding Cooley’s back surgery. In the statement Cooley is quoted as saying:

“I want to thank all the fans for their support. I am feeling better and looking forward to returning to work next week and coaching the team.”

The statement also says that “Cooley is expected to be back in the office next week.”

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2 responses to “Ed Cooley Underwent Back Surgery on Monday”

  1. Jack Durkan Avatar
    Jack Durkan

    Best of luck, Coach!

  2. […] native chose UConn on September 5th. Cooley clearly wasn’t deterred and despite still recovering from a recent back surgery, Cooley was up to the task of hosting the 6’9 Watson and ultimately got a great birthday […]

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