‘NCIS’ Star Undergoes Surgery

An NCIS star is spending his hiatus getting surgery.

Longtime cast member Brian Dietzen took to his Instagram to share that he had surgery on his arm.

He shared a photo of himself wearing a cast and sling, revealing he had a labrum repair, bicep tendon repair, biceps repair, and calcified rotator cleanup, noting he was, “Soooo ready for summer in this stylish sling!”

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A post shared by Brian Dietzen (@briankdietzen)

“Honestly though, so very thankful to have some incredible doctors to put my shoulder back together, and @sagaftra healthcare to pay for it,” Dietzen continued. “Been needing this for some time, and glad I have the opportunity during hiatus. I fully expect this will shave 3-4 strokes off my average 18 hole score!”

It’s unknown what exactly happened with Dietzen’s shoulder, but it sounds like the surgery was a long time coming. Since filming for NCIS Season 23 probably won’t start until July, that should give Dietzen enough time to recover. At the very least, his character, Dr. Jimmy Palmer, doesn’t do much of the action unless he accidentally finds himself in the middle of a gun fight or kidnapped, so if he does have to still wear a sling by the time production starts back up, it shouldn’t hurt the storyline too much.

Brian Dietzen joined NCIS as Jimmy Palmer in Season 1, starting out as a recurring cast member before being upped to series regular starting in the sixth season. He and Sean Murray, who also joined in the first season, are the longest-running cast members on the series. As of now, there doesn’t seem to be any indication that either will be leaving the show any time soon, but that doesn’t mean it won’t happen. However, with Dietzen as good as new and recovering during hiatus, he will certainly be returning at full strength for the upcoming season for probably quite a while.

As of now, a premiere date for Season 23 of NCIS has yet to be announced, but the show will be returning this fall. The franchise will be swapping nights with FBI, as NCIS, NCIS: Origins, and NCIS: Sydney will be airing on Tuesday nights. It marks the first time the NCIS franchise has taken up a whole night. More information on the new season should be announced in the coming months, but for now, fans will just have to wait as Brian Dietzen continues to recover from his surgery.