Sam Pittman reveals he will undergo hip replacement surgery after regular season

Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman has been added to the Razorbacks injury report. Pittman will have to undergo hip replacement surgery after the regular season, he announced on Monday.

Pittman found out just before the start of the 2024 season that he needed to get his hip replaced, but he didn’t have time to do so, choosing to wait until after the regular season is over, instead.

“Well, my hip, I found out about my hip … about 135-40 days ago. And it just went out,” Sam Pittman said. “So I found out I need to get a new hip. And it was at a point in time where it was so close to the season starting that I just didn’t feel like I could do it.

“And as it’s gone on it’s gotten sorer and sorer. … I’ve got a chip. I’ve got a broken hip, which it is what it is – sore. But as soon as we get through with the Missouri game, between that and the postseason, I’m going to get a new hip.”

Missouri is currently 5-4 (3-3) with games remaining against Texas, Louisiana Tech and Missouri. With one more win, the Razorbacks will become bowl eligible.

Arkansas closes out the regular season at Missouri on Nov. 30 and Sam Pittman is planning to have surgery the following week. He doesn’t expect the procedure to hinder his responsibilities as the head coach.

“I think that I’ll be able to walk out of the surgery and then I should be, you know that first week after the Missouri game is kind of a dead week for us, because the kids are in finals. … And I wanted to have it where I could move around pretty good by the time that the portal opened,” Pittman said.

“Because that’s very, very busy. You can sit down and do it, but it’s easier to stand up and move around a little bit. But that’s really the only time. I just didn’t feel like I could get it done before the season and be effective.”

Sam Pittman acknowledged that he has been in some pain throughout this season due to needing his hip replaced, but thankfully the time is almost here for the surgery to be completed.

“It’s sore. … You can’t ever get off of it,” he said. “You can’t sit off of it, you can’t sleep off of it, you obviously can’t walk off of it.

“Anybody that’s had bone-on-bone hip knows that it’s irritable and hard to sleep and those things. But I’ve made it 130 something days of it and I can make it another 22.”