Does the Supraspinatus initiate shoulder abduction?

"I have torn my Rotator cuff so I won’t be able to lift up my arm."
I remember many years ago at university, being taught that the Supraspinatus muscle initiated the first 15 degrees of shoulder abduction. We were also told that if you ruptured the Supraspinatus then you would need to lean away from the problem side to bypass the first 15 degrees so that your Deltoid could take over. So, is this true, does the Supraspinatus initiate shoulder abduction?

References:
Reed, D., Cathers, I., Halaki, M., & Ginn, K. (2013). Does supraspinatus initiate shoulder abduction?. Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology, 23(2), 425-429

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DISCLAIMER:
The content in this video is provided for general information purposes only and is not meant to replace a physiotherapy or medical consultation.

[coachingconfidant]

yes i agree however. I think the supraspinnatus does the brunt of the work in the early stages of abduction..especially first 15 degrees due to the moment arm being higher than the lateral deltoid. Therefore it would fail first if you were in this range