AP

Buccaneers linebacker Quincy Black had surgery to repair nerve damage in his left shoulder last month, an operation he needed after suffering a scary-looking injury while hitting Chargers running back Ryan Mathews during a November game.

Black missed the rest of the season and General Manager Mark Dominik said before the surgery that Black was still in the early stages of his recovery. Dominik took up the issue of Black’s status again on Thursday and he didn’t have much more to report this time. Black’s surgery was said to go well, but the team still doesn’t have any idea about what that means for Black’s chances of resuming his football career.

“You generally like to walk out of any surgery and say that it was a successful surgery, but the reality is, that because of the nerve damage and the nerve grafting and everything, you won’t know if it’s successful or not for several months,” Dominik said, via Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune. “It’s a tough injury and a unique injury and, at the same point, it’s hard for us to have any timetable or feel for it.”

That raises the possibility that the Bucs will be saying goodbye to Black soon. He’s due $5.5 million in 2013 and that’s a lot of money to set aside for someone who might not even be able to play next season or ever again.