Lance McCullers Jr. has already had one Tommy John surgery. He wasn’t keen on having another.
That’s why the Houston Astros starting pitcher was so reliever after his surgery for his injured right forearm.
McCullers spoke to the Houston media on Saturday ahead of the Astros’ game with the Cincinnati Reds. He said that going into the surgery he knew there was a chance that he could end up requiring a second Tommy John surgery.
Turns out, it wasn’t needed. But his surgeon was prepared for it.
“Going into surgery and you don’t know what you’re doing, and that was a bit nerve-wracking,” McCullers said. “They shaved my legs because they were talking about doing a UCL replacement if that was needed or just the flexor…”
The surgery, performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles took about three hours. McCullers said it corrected a long-term issue he’s been dealing with for a few years.
When the surgery was originally announced it was to remove a lima-bean sized bone spur in his arm.
McCullers had not pitched this season and injured the flexor tendon during the 2021 American League Division Series. He then aggravated it during Spring Training. He should be ready to return next season.
Injuries have been part of the deal with McCullers, who missed all of 2019 recovering from Tommy John surgery and threw 11 combined starts (regular season and postseason) last year due to injury.
The Astros must do without the 2017 All-Star, who has a career record of 49-32, until next season. But at least it won’t be longer.
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