The Heat believe Winslow will miss the remainder of the season.

Team physician Harlan Selesnick performed the surgery, which took 80 minutes. Winslow got hurt in the final moments of a game at Boston last week, and on the flight home was telling coaches that he was fine – even rotating his shoulder in an effort to prove his point.

But further tests this week diagnosed the tear, and a second exam on Wednesday confirmed the need for surgery.

”To say I am disappointed is an understatement,” Winslow said. ”It hurts that I can’t be there for my teammates, the coaching staff and our fans. After a lot of thought, this surgery is what is best for my career.”

It has been a difficult season for Winslow, who missed 16 games while recovering from a sprained left wrist and now likely will miss the final 48 with the injury to his non-shooting shoulder.

He’s averaged 10.9 points on 35 percent shooting this season.

”I will be back,” Winslow said. ”In the meantime, I will dedicate myself to the rehab process and will find a way to support my teammates and make my team better.”

The Heat already have used 15 starting lineups this season – tied for second-most in the NBA entering Thursday’s games – and have seen what was their anticipated frontcourt get decimated by health issues.

Chris Bosh didn’t pass his physical in September because of ongoing complications related to blood clots, effectively ending his Heat career even though he remains on the roster. Josh McRoberts is out indefinitely with a stress fracture in his left foot, and now Winslow’s season is almost certainly over.

So far, the Heat have had players miss 144 games – and counting – because of illness and injury. That number will only rise, though center Hassan Whiteside (eye contusion) is expected to rejoin the team in Los Angeles later this week and possibly play Sunday when Miami visits the Clippers.

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Winslow was hurt in the final minute of Miami’s loss in Boston on Friday when he got tangled up with Celtics center Al Horford. The injury was originally diagnosed as a stinger, and even Winslow said earlier this week that he wasn’t worried.

Winslow immediately began grabbing at the shoulder after he and Horford made contact while anticipating a rebound. Winslow was called for a foul on the play.

Further tests after the team returned to Miami revealed the tear, which the Heat announced Wednesday before they played the Sacramento Kings.

”I really feel for him because I know how much time he put in this summer,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. ”He’s put in as much time as anybody.”

Winslow missed 16 games earlier this season with a sore left wrist. The second-year forward out of Duke is averaging 10.9 points on 35 percent shooting this season.

The Heat have been dealing with injuries and illness all season, starting when All-Star forward Chris Bosh (complications related to blood clots) was not cleared for participation after failing a physical before training camp.

Wayne Ellington, Josh Richardson and Dion Waiters – a trio of the team’s best shooters – have all missed at least 10 games with an array of leg injuries. Forward Josh McRoberts is out indefinitely with a stress fracture in his left foot and center Hassan Whiteside – the league’s leading rebounder – is currently out with an eye injury, though is expected to rejoin the team in Los Angeles later this week.

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It’s already seemed like a marathon.

Barely seven months removed from being a game shy of the NBA’s Final Four, the Heat were the first team this season to reach the 25-loss mark. Only Philadelphia and Brooklyn are keeping Miami from having the league’s worst record, and it’s a paper-thin buffer right now between the Heat and the cellar. Injuries have piled up as well, further adding to the struggle of rebuilding.

”It’s not so much frustration,” Heat forward Justise Winslow said, talking about the team’s collective mood. ”It’s more just like sympathy.”

Banged-up and usually beaten, the Heat start a six-game trip in Phoenix on Tuesday night. The good news is that the first three games on this swing are against teams that are like the Heat, well below the .500 mark. The bad news is that Miami hasn’t beaten anybody on the road in more than a month, and seems to have a different lineup every night.

Just in Sunday’s loss to Detroit alone, the Heat were without Goran Dragic, Hassan Whiteside, Dion Waiters, Josh McRoberts and Winslow. McRoberts is out indefinitely with a stress fracture in his left foot, and Whiteside (scratched right eye) and Winslow (right shoulder stinger) did not travel with the team Monday – though that doesn’t mean they can’t meet the Heat somewhere on this trip.

”We’ll get guys back,” coach Erik Spoelstra said.

Dion Waiters hasn’t played since late November because of a torn groin muscle; he was on the team flight Monday, a sign that his return might finally be coming. Whiteside got poked in the eye during Miami’s game at Boston on Friday, when Winslow got hurt on the final play of the game.

At this rate, there will be a point where Miami starts thinking more about the future than the present. Plenty of trade talk in the next few weeks will involve the Heat, who have a ton of salary-cap space to use this summer and will undoubtedly hear from contending teams looking to add a player or two for the looming playoff runs.

And unless there’s some seismic improvement, Miami’s NBA draft lottery odds might look pretty good as well.

”I know this about Erik’s teams: They’re going to play really, really hard,” Detroit coach Stan Van Gundy said of Spoelstra, his longtime friend going back to when they were both part of the Heat staff.

Just take some examples from Sunday’s loss: James Johnson dove on the floor to salvage what looked like a sure turnover, setting up a 3-pointer. He leaped into the Detroit bench a couple minutes later to save a ball, and the Heat got another 3 out of that possession. Rodney McGruder thwarted a 4-on-1 Detroit fast break later in the game as well, though the Pistons wound up scoring on that possession.

That’s sort of the theme for the Heat season so far. Even when things go right, it’s not right enough.

”I’m seeing the guys out there diving on the floor, making winning plays, putting their bodies out there, putting themselves out there,” captain Udonis Haslem said. ”That’s how you become a championship team.”

Even with Whiteside’s numbers looking good – averages of 17.3 points and 14.3 rebounds per game – he’s far from a lock for the All-Star team, in part because there’s no true center designation in the roster-choosing process. No one currently playing for the Heat has ever been an All-Star, and it’s probably reasonable to think that won’t change in the next few weeks.

For comparison’s sake, last year’s Heat lineup featured players with a combined 38 All-Star trips.

Dwyane Wade’s now in Chicago, Joe Johnson is in Utah, Luol Deng is with the Lakers, Amare Stoudemire is in Israel and Chris Bosh is in basketball exile, sidelined by concerns about his blood-clot situations and now seen with Heat teammates only in photos from New Year’s Eve gatherings.

”It is what it is,” Winslow said. ”Take it with a grain of salt. Not going to make any excuses. We’re all basketball players. We get paid to do this. We get paid to show up on time, get paid to have your brother’s back on the court.”

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