Sixers
76ers Guard Jared McCain Suffers Thumb Injury During Workout
Published25 Sep 2025
The injury bug continues to haunt the Philadelphia 76ers. Jared McCain suffered a UCL tear in his right thumb during a workout Thursday, as first reported by Tim Bontemps of ESPN.
Philadelphia 76ers guard Jared McCain suffered a UCL tear in his right thumb during a workout today, sources told ESPN. He and the team are working with specialists to decide how they will proceed, sources said.
Philadelphia is set to hold media day tomorrow.
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) September 25, 2025
McCain was limited to just 23 games played as a rookie due to a torn left lateral meniscus. He had quickly cemented himself as a key piece of the rotation prior to injuring his knee in mid-December. The 21-year old averaged 15.3 points while shooting 38.3% from 3-point range.
The Sixers officially confirmed the McCain thumb injury. “McCain and the 76ers are consulting with specialists on next steps and further updates will be provided as appropriate.”
How much time do NBA players miss on average from UCL tears? According to Jeff Stotts of the sports medicine website In Street Clothes, the average time lost for a UCL tear requiring surgery is approximately 7 1/2 weeks. If McCain follows that recovery timeline, he would be able to return to the court in mid-November after missing roughly 13 games. There have also been examples of players returning in sooner than the 7 1/2 week timeline. Anfernee Simons tore the UCL in his right thumb on the opening night of the 2023-24 season. He had surgery to repair the injury and returned to action six weeks later. If McCain were able to return after six weeks, he would miss approximately eight games.
McCain, the 2024 No. 16 overall pick, was in line to either be the Sixers’ starting shooting guard or their sixth man before suffering this latest injury. The Sixers will likely be without McCain for some amount of time to begin the 2025-26 campaign. With McCain’s latest injury and Quentin Grimes as of now remaining unsigned, 2025 No. 3 overall pick V.J. Edgecombe has a clear path to a potential starting role to open up the season.
