Elbow ligament reconstruction (Tommy John surgery) is a relatively conquered field compared to shoulder surgery. When analyzing the cases, the chances of recovery are high.
Of course, that’s assuming you do your rehabilitation well and complete it successfully, but it’s a lot less stressful than shoulder surgery, where the chances of a comeback are much lower.
“You have to trust Tommy John,” Hyun-jin Ryu said when I met him at spring training in February. Ryu had Tommy John surgery in high school and rehabilitated well enough to go on to a successful professional career, but it’s a less anxiety-inducing option than the shoulder surgery he had in 2015. The hope of a comeback adds to a player’s motivation. It”s much better than the shoulder surgery that left him fighting the fear that his career might be over.
After undergoing the second Tommy John surgery of his career last June, Ryu is now in the final stages of his rehabilitation. He’s taking it slow and working on bullpen pitches. He’s on pace to make a minor league rehab start next month.
Ryu, who has been rehabbing in Dunedin, Florida, where the team’s training facility is located, recently joined his teammates on a trip to nearby Tampa Bay and threw a ball in front of the coaching staff. “He looks good,” Toronto manager John Schneider said. He emphasized that Ryu is still on track to return in July, around the All-Star break. So far, so good.
He underwent elbow surgery in his mid-30s. It was also the second elbow surgery of his career. It’s a completely different story than a 메이저사이트 first Tommy John surgery for an athlete in their early to mid-20s. It’s a lot more pressure and you have to be more careful. But it’s goodbye to the nagging elbow pain that has plagued him for the last three or four years. You’ll be able to push yourself harder. If so, he can even look ahead to a more distant future of active duty.
When asked if he could pitch for much longer now that his elbow ligament problem has been resolved, Ryu jokingly replied, “I’m going to keep it short and sweet.” However, it’s not uncommon for players to have elbow surgery in their 30s and continue to play for quite a while longer. There’s also a good example in the form of senior national team member Lim Chang-yong (47).
He is another example of a player who received Tommy John surgery late in life. He underwent elbow surgery in 2012, when he was 36 years old, while playing in Nippon Professional Baseball. The damage was reportedly relatively minor compared to other players, but surgery is still surgery. He rehabbed for nearly a year. However, both the surgery and rehab were successful, and in 2013, he signed with the Chicago Cubs to play in the major leagues.
He returned to the KBO in 2014 and played for Samsung and Kia until 2018. While he wasn’t at the peak of his powers, he still managed to keep his team’s back door open with 31 saves in 2014 and 33 saves in 2015. In 2018, he was also a starter, throwing 86⅓ innings. It was a matter of decline, not the condition of his elbow. After his elbow surgery, he could have pitched for another six years, and maybe even more.
Ryu is now 36 years old. He should be slowly preparing for the end of his career, but with a healthy elbow and his unique delivery, he could still be around for quite a few more years. In fact, a healthy elbow might even help him improve his delivery. He’s said he wants to finish his career with his hometown team Hanwha, so it’s easy to envision a scenario where he returns to Korea after fulfilling his final goal in the major leagues. His surgically repaired elbow should see him through this time. Retirement is still a long way off.
