Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale could miss season due to elbow injury
- Early reports suggest Chris Sale could be out until late 2021 after the Boston Red Sox confirmed their pitcher would undergo elbow surgery.
![Red Sox - cropped](data:image/svg+xml,<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 800 450"></svg>)
Boston Red Sox are set to be without pitcher Chris Sale for a substantial amount of time after the team confirmed he would undergo elbow surgery.
The Red Sox announced on Thursday that 30-year-old Sale, who has struggled with injuries in recent seasons, had aggravated an issue in his left arm.
Sale sustained the injury while training, having just returned from a two-week lay off for a strained flexor tendon in his forearm.
He will now undergo undergo ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction surgery – also known as Tommy John surgery.
The #RedSox announced today that LHP Chris Sale will undergo ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction surgery (Tommy John) on his left elbow.
— Red Sox (@RedSox) March 19, 2020
Worryingly for the Red Sox, initial reports have suggested Sale will not only miss all of the 2020 MLB season – should it go ahead, with the league still on hold amid the coronavirus pandemic – but also the majority, if not the entirety, of the 2021 campaign.
Sale averaged 205 innings pitched from 2012 to 2017, but shoulder problems derailed his form in 2018 and issues with his elbow forced him to finish his 2019 campaign in August.
With Sale now set for a lengthy spell out, Boston will have to rely on Eduardo Rodriguez and Nathan Eovaldi after they traded David Price in the offseason.
Published 20 Mar 2020, 04:12 IST