PUEBLO, Colo. – Lucas Divino could not get enough of the action during the PBR Stockyards Showcase in Fort Worth, Texas, last month.
If Divino was not on the back of the bucking chutes at the Fort Worth Stockyards helping move bulls or pulling one of his buddies’ ropes, then he was off to the side whooping and hollering for every rider attempting to reach the 8-second mark.
The cheerful Divino has missed riding bulls and seeing his friends as he continues to recover from left hip surgery he underwent in Nashville back in April.
“Holy moly, I am so ready to go. I feel awesome,” Divino said.
Divino last competed on March 20 when Juju bucked him off in 1.75 seconds in Kansas City, Missouri, aggravating a previous left knee injury in the process.
At that point, Divino knew he could not continue to ride through the pain that was also continuing to bother him in his hips. Divino has had hip issues for years, and he learned recently that he had bone spurs on his left and right hip, as well torn cartilage on the left side.
Lucas talked things over with his wife, Tayler, and the couple decided the best thing for them was for Lucas to get his hips fixed.
The original plan was for Divino to first get his left hip repaired via Dr. J.W. Thomas Byrd in Nashville in April and then get his right hip surgically repaired a few months later.
However, Divino has since decided to delay his right hip surgery until after the 2021 PBR World Finals. The primary reason, per Divino, is that he learned during his left hip recovery just how strenuous a process the recovery can be. The surgery itself lasted roughly two hours, but Divino had to remain immobile, and he was essentially useless around the house for about a month after his surgery. Now that he and Tayler are close to welcoming their first child in August, Divino decided he did not want to put the added stress of another hip surgery on the family.
“I had another surgery coming, but I just decided to do this other one after Finals,” Divino said in Fort Worth. “My wife is (eight months) pregnant, so it is beginning to get hard for her. Right now, I can’t start something new. Everything would be so hard for her because when I got my left hip done, I can’t do nothing. I had to sit still for maybe a month. She had to everything, and with the baby coming everything would be so hard for her.”
Divino expects to be ready to return to the Unleash The Beast at some point in August, potentially as soon as the PBR Express Ranches Classic in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on July 31/Aug. 1
The 27-year-old is still very much in contention for a World Finals qualification spot. Divino is ranked No. 41st in the world standings, and he trails No. 35 J.T. Moore by 26 points. Divino is only 4-for-11 in six UTB events.
The hip and knee injuries put a damper on Divino’s development this season as it appeared he may be ready to take the next step in his career following an 11th-place finish last year in the world standings.
Divino struggled in the second half last season with injuries to his left arm and right riding hand as he faded out of the world title conversation. Unlike past seasons, Divino dedicated himself to a workout program in the offseason to attempt to get his body ready for the 2021 season.
“This year I can be at the top and be better than last year,” Divino said at the season-opener in Ocala, Florida. “Every single year I try to think about something else and fix what I do wrong. For me, this year I started preparing early, working out. I worked out more because I wanted to start the year and be ready. Before I would only start working out when the events started, so I would be a little late before getting in shape,” This year I took a break mentally but physically I kept training. I know I have some bone spurs, but I feel good because I kept working out.”
Of course, those bone spurs became a larger issue as the season progressed and Divino had to undergo surgery.
Divino now believes with one of the two hips repaired that he is healthy enough to be a force in the second half and qualify for the World Finals.
“My right hip doesn’t bother me, and my knee now feels so good (from rest and rehab),” Divino concluded. “I am just working out and making it stronger. I am almost ready.”
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
Photos courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media