Russum's season up in air

By Tim Doherty
tdoherty@clarionledger.com

HATTIESBURG — Cliff Russum hasn't thrown from a pitcher's mound since last May.

There's a 50-50 chance that Southern Miss' senior right-handed ace may not return to the hill competitively for the Golden Eagles until the 2006 season.

Russum, who had surgery in July to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder, is in the final stages of the first phase of physical rehabilitation.

He's scheduled for an examination in two weeks, a checkup that could go a long way in determining whether Russum will be able to pitch for USM this spring.

"Right now, it's kind of wait and see," Russum said this week. "I want to, but you've got to give it time to heal."

And the normal recovery period from the procedure done on Russum's shoulder is nine months.

"And if that's the case, it'd be a stretch to get him back," USM baseball coach Corky Palmer said. "You're opening the season in the middle of February, and so with Cliff, you're probably looking at the middle of March.

"But before I'd let him go out there, he'd have to throw like he's capable of in an intrasquad game. That's going to be the determining factor for me."

<a href='http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050108/SPORTS030104/501080372/1025/SPORTS' target='_blank'>CLARION-LEDGER: Russum may have to miss 2005 season</a>