Gaffney product Rice has hip surgery, could be ready by midseason

Gaffney and University of South Carolina product and current Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Sidney Rice had hip surgery Monday in Colorado, according to a report from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. The team's leading receiver last season, he is expected to miss up to half of this year as he recovers from the injury sustained in the NFC championship game last January.

Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Sidney Rice is expected to miss up to half of the upcoming NFL season after undergoing hip surgery Monday, according to Judd Zuglad of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

Rice confirmed through a text message Tuesday morning to the Minneapolis (Minn.) - based newspaper that he had undergone the procedure at the Steadman Clinic in Vail, Colo. In the text, the Vikings receiver said surgery went well, and that he is expected to be sidelined for the first half of the 2010 campaign.

He has been on the team's physically unable to perform (PUP) list since the beginning of training camp due to a hip injury suffered in the Vikings' overtime loss to eventual Super Bowl-champion New Orleans last January. The receiver initially used Sept. 9 as a target date for his return, the day Minnesota returns to the Superdome for a rematch against the Saints to kickoff the 2010 NFL season.

Rice nor the Vikings have said much about the receiver's ailing hip, which during camp has impacted his ability to cut and get in and out of breaks, Zuglad said. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune sports writer also reported "the issue could have been taken of this offseason but Rice elected not have surgery, despite the fact that two of three specialists he saw suggested that might be the best idea."

A product of Gaffney (S.C.) High School and the University of South Carolina, Rice was chosen in the the second round of the 2007 NFL Draft. Last season proved to be his best as a professional however, catching a team-leading 83 passes for 1,312 yards and eight touchdowns, heavily contributing to the receiver being voted to his first Pro Bowl.

Rice's surgery further complicates the Vikings' problems at the wide receiver position, already dealing with Percy Harvin and his ongoing bout with migraines. The second year speedster out of Florida has missed much of camp due to the medical condition, which last week caused him to collapse on the practice field.

Harvin could return to practice this week, but his availability remains day-to-day, according to Zuglad.