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"&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt; Larry Sanders (right) is averaging 2.7 points and 3.7 rebounds this season. (Mike McGinnis/Getty Images Sport)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The Bucks announced Monday that center Larry Sanders will be sidelined for roughly six weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Sanders, 24, suffered the injury during an off-court incident earlier this month. The fourth-year center reportedly got into a late-night altercation at \"Apartment 720,\" a Milwaukee nightclub. Police investigated the incident but Sanders was not charged.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;A six-week recovery timeline will keep Sanders off the court until roughly Christmas. If he returns in exactly six weeks, Sanders will be sidelined for Milwaukee's next 23 games. Sanders has not played since the incident took place on Nov. 2, and Milwaukee is off to a 2-3 start.\u00A0Without Sanders, coach Larry Drew has started Zaza Pachulia at center alongside forwards John Henson and Caron Butler.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;On Friday, Sanders issued an apology for his role in the incident, which kept him out of practices and two games last week.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\"I put myself in a bad situation over the weekend,\" Sanders told reporters. \"Didn't make the best decisions down the stretch. I'd like to apologize to our fans here, [Bucks owner Herb] Kohl, who I will take to directly. I've talked to the team and I've apologized to them, just for shedding a negative light on our team, on our organization. It's not what we're about at all, it's not who we are, it's not what we stand for. I offer my apologies to everyone, especially the fans. They put a lot on me and count on me a lot, for everybody I let down, I'm going to get better, I'm going to be better.\"&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;After agreeing to\u00A0a four-year, $48 million extension\u00A0in August, Sanders acknowledged he was being entrusted with a leadership role on a rebuilt Bucks team, and he said that he looked forward to \"represent[ing] Milwaukee\" for the duration of his new deal.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CCan\u2019t believe I\u2019ve been granted this opportunity to represent Milwaukee for the next five years and hopefully the rest of my career,\u201D Sanders\u00A0wrote on Instagram\u00A0after signing his new deal. \u201CWords can not explain my gratitude for the Bucks\u00A0organization and the faith in me as a leader and a worker. I won\u2019t let you down Mil-town.\u201D&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Milwaukee's\u00A0620WTMJ.com reported\u00A0that sources alleged that Sanders was the instigator in the incident, and that he allegedly was throwing champagne bottles.\u00A0Milwaukee's\u00A0Fox6Now.com reports\u00A0that a 26-year-old man was injured in the incident after he was allegedly hit by a bottle.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The surgery is just the latest round of bad news for Sanders, who is averaging just 2.7 points and 3.7 rebounds in three appearances. In addition to the nightclub incident, Sanders has expressed frustration\u00A0at sitting on the bench late in games under Drew.\u00A0In October,\u00A0Sanders' former agent sued his current representation\u00A0for alleged client poaching prior to Sanders' rookie contract extension agreement.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The 2010 first-round pick out of Virginia Commonwealth started 55 games for Milwaukee last season, averaging\u00A09.8 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.8 blocks\u00A0while establishing a reputation as one of the NBA\u2019s most fearless and physically gifted interior defenders. Sanders finished second in the league in blocks per game and placed seventh in the 2013 Defensive Player of the Year voting.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Sanders was among the league leaders in technical fouls last season and he\u2019s been ejected on numerous occasions during his career, including a\u00A0memorable incident in March\u00A0when he flashed the \u201Cthumbs up\u201D sign to all three referees on his way off of the court. Sanders was also\u00A0fined $50,000 for publicly criticizing the officiating\u00A0after a loss to the Heat.\nMilwaukee might also lose Carlos Delfino for the season due to a foot injury.&lt;/p&gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.si.com/nba/point-forward/2013/11/11/larry-sanders-thumb-surgery-milwaukee-bucks>