Notable update emerges on Shohei Ohtani’s injury

Shohei Ohtani fortunately only appears to be dealing with a maintenance issue right now.

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts spoke with reporters on Friday and shared an update on two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani. Roberts said that Ohtani would be held out of that night’s game against the Chicago White Sox due to his left knee injury.

However, Roberts also revealed that an MRI on Ohtani’s knee revealed that the Japanese sensation is only dealing with inflammation in the knee. As a result, Roberts now expects Ohtani to return to the lineup as a hitter over the weekend as well as to make his next scheduled start as a pitcher on Wednesday against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Ohtani, who turns 32 next month, had to leave Thursday’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates early with the injury. He was 2-for-2 with a home run and two walks at the time he exited (as the Dodgers eventually went on to win 8-6 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pa.).

The news of a left knee injury was very concerning for Ohtani, who has managed a bipartite patella condition in his left knee throughout his professional career. Ohtani has dealt with the congenital condition ever since his childhood, and a particularly bad flare-up forced him to undergo season-ending surgery back in 2019 when he was still with the Los Angeles Angels.

That said, Ohtani (who is once again the frontrunner for NL MVP this season), has appeared in 63 of the Dodgers’ 69 games up to this point. Though he will not be in the lineup for Friday’s series opener against the White Sox, Ohtani sounds unlikely to miss much more time beyond that.