After delay, T.J. Lang hopes healthy shoulder leads to healthy contract year

9:54 AM ET

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Having put off shoulder surgery for as long as he could — and, as it turned out, longer than he should have — T.J. Lang is watching the Green Bay Packers’ organized team activity practices from the sidelines this spring.

But the veteran right guard expects to be cleared for action in “another couple weeks” and be ready for the start of training camp on July 24.

“I feel like I’ve missed enough already, so I’ll have to catch up a little bit there late in July,” Lang said after the Packers’ open OTA practice last week. “But I’m expecting to be ready to go.”

Lang admitted that he probably should have had surgery on his troublesome right shoulder at least two years ago but kept putting it off, mainly because of the accompanying four- to six-month recovery time.

But having played through the pain last season — and missing one game when that pain became unbearable — Lang finally caved and had the surgery in February in Los Angeles, with Los Angeles Dodgers team doctor Neal Elattrache performing the procedure at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic.

Lang said the surgery repaired a torn labrum and “a couple other things,” and his recovery is “much further ahead than I think even I …

continue reading in source espn.go.com