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UCLA’s Shareef O’Neal to undergo heart surgery

Apple Music Launch Party Carpool Karaoke: The Series With James Corden

WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA - AUGUST 07: Former NBA player Shaquille O’Neal (L) and son Shareef O’Neal at Apple Music Launch Party Carpool Karaoke: The Series with James Corden on August 7, 2017 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for Apple)

Emma McIntyre

Shareef O’Neal will sit out the 2018-19 season after the UCLA medical staff detected a heart issue that will require surgery, the school announced.

“Thank God the UCLA medical staff caught it early,” O’Neal, Shaq’s son, told TMZ Sports.

The issue was discovered during a routine check-up, although he did not specify the nature of the condition.

O’Neal is 18 years old. He is a four-star recruit that was initially committed to Arizona before the ordeal with the FBI investigation. He’s planning on attending classes while recovering from the surgery with the goal of returning for the 2019-20 season.