Jose Altuve broken thumb average recovery time: Speculating Astros star's expected return date

Jose Altuve went down after being hit with a pitch on his hand during Team Venezuela's heartbreaking loss to the United States in the World Baseball Classic. He had to be replaced immediately in Venezuela's lineup and it was later revealed that he broke his thumb.

Altuve's is the latest in a string of WBC injuries that will potentially cost players a chunk of their MLB regular seasons. For the Houston Astros' star, it might cost him quite a bit.

In terms of recovery time, many broken thumbs range in recovery time. It could be six weeks, or it could be much longer. For Altuve, it doesn't look good.

However, it all depends on the player and it depends on the severity. If Altuve needs surgery, then the recovery time could be a few months instead of a few weeks.

The Astros will likely release a full recovery timeline for their WBC-injured star eventually, but for now they're expecting to miss him for a little while at least.

UPDATE:

According to Bob Nightengale, Altuve is expected to miss eight to 10 weeks of the season.

If everything goes well, he might be back in May, but that's an unlikely timeline. Additionally, the Astros recently confirmed that Altuve will require surgery.

More information will be available after the surgery is completed.

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The Houston Astros can survive Jose Altuve's injury

The Houston Astros certainly don't want to lose one of their leaders and one of their best offensive players. However, they're deep enough and have enough good players that they can probably withstand the loss of Jose Altuve for a bit.

Jose Altuve may be out for a while

They can shuffle the infield around, but they are bouyed by a lot of talent. Yes, the loss of Altuve will hurt, but they're a team uniquely equipped to handle the loss of one star for a little while.