Pat Neshek was injured unexpectedly last season in early May, and although he missed the remainder of the season, the organization and fans everywhere were relieved to find out that it was only a partial tear of the ligament and no surgery was required.
Now six months later, and just a few days before his rehab was due to be complete, Neshek felt discomfort in the same elbow during a throwing session.
An MRI today revealed that the other side of the ligament has been torn away from the bone, and rehab won't do the trick. The team has announced that sometime in the near future, Pat will undergo the widely-known Tommy John surgery.
It is the exact same surgery that left-hander Francisco Liriano returned from this past season, and it takes about 10-15 months to recover from. The good news for the organization is that the surgery a lot of times allows the pitcher to completely recover, and there have been cases where the pitcher has returned and performed at a higher level.
In March 2010, it will have been 16 months for Neshek to fully recover, so Spring Training 2010 is a good bet for him to finally return to game action.
The toughest part, other than the Twins being out an All-Star caliber set-up man, is that Neshek is one of the most like-able players in a Twins uniform. Neshek unfortunately will miss the final season in the Metrodome as well. We wish Pat the best, and we'll be waiting around when the new ballpark is come 2010.
Original Story:
http://www.twins-territory.com/minnes...
