Howard sidelined indefinitely
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Howard sidelined indefinitely
Matt Gelb
CLEARWATER, Fla. — Ryan Howard has indeed suffered a setback in his recovery from Achilles surgery and will be sidelined indefinitely following a procedure to clean an infection from his original wound.
Foot specialist Mark Myerson performed a "small procedure" Monday to remove the stitches from Howard's wound, Phillies head athletic trainer Scott Sheridan said. Howard is on antibiotics and should return to camp sometime Wednesday. Myerson is the surgeon who originally operated on Howard's ruptured left Achilles last October.
Sheridan is unaware of when Howard will return to his rehab program. When asked if the delay would be days or weeks, Sheridan said, "I truly don't know that answer."
While Myerson was forced to reopen Howard's wound, he did find the structure of the rebuilt Achilles tendon remained intact.
"That was our biggest concern going into this," Sheridan said. "That was one of the things during the procedure he confirmed; the Achilles tendon is intact and not compromised. That's great news."
But now, Howard must heal this new wound. Sheridan said the team will be cautious this time to avoid any further problems later.
And the area where the procedure was done is notoriously a difficult place for a wound to heal.
"It's common for the skin behind the Achilles to have trouble healing," Sheridan said. "I wouldn't say it's common for the infection to occur. I do know it's a tough area to heal. It doesn't have a very good blood supply."
Sheridan once again refuted the idea this was a setback to Howard's recovery, despite him being inactive since Saturday.
The Phillies had publicly target a return for their first baseman sometime in May. Sheridan said he never had a timetable.
"I don't prefer to use that word," Sheridan said. "I know that's the word everyone wants to use. We never established a particular timetable for him. Right now, it's one of those things that happens in the rehab process. We just have to move forward from it."
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Not a setback eh? Nope, thanks for the honesty Phils. Howard is done.— foment3- It doesn't matter how many games Howard misses. This team will do no worse than win the wild card. Mayberry plays first, Wiggy and Nix pay left, and they crush the NL East again, as long as Rollins or Utley don't go down for the season.— Paul SoTX
- Howard's biggest problem is still the stitches on a curveball.— dasher
- I am no big fan of Ryan Howard, but I'm not happy to see him have a setback. I just don't get the urgency that the Phillies had to get Howard out there in spring training, with the amount of money that they have invested in him. Why not see how he would have felt going to extended spring training in the beginning of April? He would have been around minor leaguers and other rehabbing players. He could get his work in and maybe play some minor league games by late June , or so. Maybe he returns healthy enough to contribute around the All-Star break? It took Elton Brand sometime into his second season after Achilles surgery to finally find a comfort level.— Seeing Red
- Maybe the splinter time will help him reevaluate his approach at the plate - - - NOT!— lgroniko
- I'm not a doctor, but I too thought it seemed silly to see that footage of him running around last week, taking BP, fielding grounders, etc. some 3 months after major surgery. Regardless if he comes back in May, June or September, the question is, is he the guy you really want at the plate with a playoff game on the line? I think this team needs to move on (mentally and physically) rather than counting down the days till his return. Hope for the best, plan for the worst. If he comes back healthy, great. If not, so what, you're not caught off guard. I just think it's the wrong mindset (and an unneeded distraction) for the team to have to give a daily update on this guy for the next 3 months when not even the doctors have the answers for sure anyway. And it's not like he's the Savior in October anyway. Just focus on playing ball with the guys in the clubhouse
- @dasher....that's the best!!!!! so true.......anybody else think WBisquit is just a troll saying things to get you all riled up? Just ignore him......— Mark1npt
- Phillies are toast this year, so may as well just relax and enjoy the fall from the elite status that they've enjoyed the last few years.— SteveS11
- I must have said too many bad things about Cholly and RUBE they would'nt post my comment. I said these two are just dumb. Both said it was a minor setback two days ago.This is LARGE setback.— tobyjoe
- Improper healing, and the resulting infection, is directly related to rushing him back too soon. Having suffered the same exact injury myself I feared something was going to happen when I saw a picture of him running on the track so soon. They don't want to call it a "setback" because it will legitimize the organization's negligence in handling his recovery.— Sam Crow
- Two weeks ago the silly, old fool said Ryan "looked great" and that he would be ready to play real soon. Shows you what a liar the self-proclaimed hitting guru and alleged 1954 Virginia state marbles champion really is. Get out your hankies.— Wilhelm Von Humboldt
- "Howard stinks, he can't hit, all he does is strike out, Phillies should get rid of him, he is terrible!" Oh, Howard is out for a few months? "The Phillies offense is ruined, the season is over already, they won't score any runs this year, without Howard they stink!"— commenter1111
- He will miss at least a couple weeks in order to make sure the antibiotics are working. It's probably not a serious infection, most likely a regular staph infection, and should clear up in 10-14 days. Problem is if the bacteria is resistant. Won;t know that until C&S results are back.— scootch
- Oh my, what will we ever do without a .251 batting avg. cleanup hitter?
— Borkey
