Utley's surgery done; 4-6 months to recover
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Utley's surgery done; 4-6 months to recover
Todd Zolecki
The Phillies announced today that second baseman Chase Utley had surgery on his right hip yesterday. The surgery was performed by Dr. Bryan Kelly at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. Utley had an arthroscopic debridement of his labrum and a bony lesion that was present. Kelly reported the surgery went well and the findings yesterday were consistent with the diagnostic studies performed prior to surgery. It is anticipated that he will have a four to six month recovery period as previously described.
Third baseman Pedro Feliz had a lumbar discectomy performed on November 20 by Dr. Robert Watkins in Los Angeles and the procedure went well. The discectomy was performed on the L4-5 disc and Feliz will return home to complete his rehabilitation program, which is expected to require eight to 12 weeks.
In other words, the recovery times for Utley and Feliz have not changed.
Should Feliz require 12 weeks to recover, he would be ready in late February.
Should Utley require six months to recover, he woudl be ready in late May. But the Phillies said last week they think Utley can be ready earlier than that.
good luck chase! sounds painful— wearethechampions- Get Well Soon, Boys!— Phandom
- Get well soon to the BEST 2nd baseman in the game. No doubt, you'll be back, better than ever. Looking forward to April and Phillies baseball.— mdcasino
- Good luck, Chase & Feliz. Speedy recovery!— lincolndrive
- So we really going to let Bruntlett play 2b until Utley returns? Say it ain't so! Sign Durham or Jeff Kent please!— fyreknight
- 4-6 months sounds to me like a general prognosis...Utley has proven to be a bit outside of the norm in situations like these. To me, it would be better to know when he is expected to be able to resume "baseball activities". Any word on that, Zo? I think I originally heard 3-4 months? If it turns out to be 3 - 3 1/2 months before he can resume baseball activities, he could reasonably be participating in Spring Training by early- to mid-March... and possibly be back in the lineup at some point in April.— RollinsWasRight
- Zo' thanks for brighter than your fan base who completly another human being and world champion 3rd baseman by the name of Pedro... Pedro get well soon buddy, wish you the best even if nobody else does....— Truth
- Amen, commenters - Chase, take your time in recovery. I'd rather have you for another 10 years than a month early.— Philth
- fyreknight - Jeff Kent is simply a bad dude who can't play anymore. And why would you bother to sign anyone when you only need a 1-month stop gap? They are making the right decision. Give Jason Donald a long, hard look at 2B in Spring Training, and if he handles himself well enough, let him split time with Bruntlett until Utley is ready. It's not as if Utley is out until the All-Star Break. He could be back by Opening Day (best-case scenario) or he could be back by Memorial Day (worst-case scenario). Neither of those scenarios demands you sign a veteran player for several million dollars for an entire season, just to hold down the fort for what could turn out to be only a few weeks.— RollinsWasRight
- Stuff it, Truth, you pompous, trouble-making twit. People are concerned with Utley because he is: A. more important to the team's success, B. actually a part of the team's future, and C. actually recovering from an injury that will affect the season. Players have offseason surgery all the time. With a recovery window of 8-12 weeks, worst case is Feliz is ready to go at the start of Spring Training, you half-wit. Why would anyone be overly concerned about that? Oh wait, I forgot. I am supposed to moon over every player not named Chase Utley because you still think the word "cool" is synonymous with the word "nonconformist". By the way, how's that stress fracture in Jimmy Rollins's ankle?— RollinsWasRight
- Truth---there have been numerous concerns (myself included!)about Feliz's surgery/recovery. Also his recovery time wasn't as extensive as Utley's so they concern wasn't quite as great. Happy Turkey Day to all the Zo Zone gang!— KarenA
- get better soon boys— gulls3012
- I don't know about the rest of you, but I can't focus on any of the other sports in Philly. The main reason is I'm isolated in Los Angeles. It was so quiet out here when the Phils won the World Series that neighbors from three blocks away were coming over to tell me to shut the --- up. I can only think positive things about next year. Chase Utley and Pedro Feliz will be %150 and ready to play by opening day. Ryan Howard will be able to hit or not swing at sliders. Carlos Ruiz will be the Carlos Ruiz of the post season. Frankly, I don't even care how he hits as long as he keeps calling games the way he did this past season. Our pitching staff looks better than any other National League East team's. And most important of all, we have Charlie coming back to keep every ego checked and every mind focused.— Erich H
- RWR....You're right about the resume "baseball activites" being 3-4 months. With "full" recovery, 4-6 months. I'm expecting him to participate in Spring Training. I heard that Chase was up and walking this morning, and returned to Philly already, to begin rehab. I assume at Rothman. Get well soon Chase! AND Pedro!!! OK, Truth?!— Norma
- Whenever Utley and his doctors say he is ready, the Phillies should make him wait another month. My biggest concern is that he comes back too early and, the way he plays, re-injures himself. We can survive the first 20-30 games with Bruntlett/Donald at 2B. Bruntlett did OK for Rollins last year. He wasn't Ernie Banks, but he was OK.— KMG
