Heat’s Bam Adebayo undergoes successful surgery on thumb. The latest on a return timetable

The Miami Heat announced Tuesday that starting center Bam Adebayo underwent successful surgery on Monday on a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right thumb.

The surgery was performed in Los Angeles and Adebayo is expected to miss four to six weeks, according to the team. That timetable is from Monday’s surgery.

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If Adebayo misses six weeks, he would not return until around the Heat’s Jan. 17 game against the Toronto Raptors. That would force him to miss just over 20 games.

“I’m already ready for my six weeks to be over,” Adebayo said last week. “But it’s a grind. Get back healthy and help my team win some games.”

The Heat has already played four games without Adebayo since he suffered the injury during last week’s Nov. 29 home loss to the Denver Nuggets. Miami has posted a 1-3 record in those games.

As a point of reference, Chris Paul dealt with a torn UCL in his left thumb in January 2017 and his recovery timetable was six to eight weeks. Paul ended up returning about five weeks later, with the surgery on Jan. 18, 2017 and his first game back coming on Feb. 24, 2017.

Also, Marcus Smart underwent surgery for a torn UCL in his right thumb on March 16, 2018 and he returned to play in the playoffs on April 24, 2018. He returned to game action between five and six weeks after surgery.

Without Adebayo, the Heat has started Dewayne Dedmon in his place. Since Dedmon moved into the starting lineup, Miami has used a combination of Omer Yurtseven, Udonis Haslem, KZ Okpala and even played starting power forward P.J. Tucker at center to complete the power rotation.

The eventual return of veteran forward Markieff Morris, who missed his 15th consecutive game on Monday because of whiplash, will also help solidify the Heat’s frontcourt. There was a positive sign on Monday with Morris on the court for pregame work, but coach Erik Spoelstra said after the Heat’s loss to the Grizzlies there was no update on his status.

Adebayo, 24, has averaged 18.7 points on 51.9 percent shooting, 10.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.1 steals in 18 games this season.