St. Louis Cardinals infielder Brendan Ryan underwent an arthroscopy and debridement procedure of his right wrist on Tuesday, February 9. The procedure was performed in Los Angeles by Dr. Steven Shin and was deemed successful.
Ryan is scheduled to begin his rehabilitation in one week. Dr. Shin and the Cardinals’ medical staff expect that he will make a full recovery in time for the beginning of the regular season.
MLB.com’s Matthew Leach spoke with Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak, who says Ryan won't swing a bat for three weeks, meaning the right-handed hitter will be limited at the start of spring training camp. Position players are scheduled to report to Jupiter, Florida no later than February 19.
Leach further reports that it was a known problem that did not respond to rest over the winter. The shortstop told the Post-Dispatch he had a "knifing sensation" that worsened in recent weeks. Living in the Los Angeles area, Ryan joined teammate Skip Schumaker for ongoing offseason batting instruction with new Cardinals hitting coach Mark McGwire.
The 27-year-old has a history of wrist problems. Last February during spring training, Ryan sat out several days after soreness in the wrist which at the time was called tendinitis. He mentioned two earlier occurrences of swelling during the 2008-09 off season.
The above photo was taken at Colorado last September 27 after Ryan injured his right hand in a bunt attempt. Cardinals head trainer Barry Weinberg is pictured with the shortstop, who had to leave the game. Ryan returned to action on the 30th.
Previously, Ryan missed all but 28 games of the 2006 season after a spring training injury that led to surgery on his left wrist. He had just been added to the organization’s 40-man roster prior to the season. Ryan would not make his MLB debut until June 2, 2007.
Ryan has also endured disabled list stints over the last two years due to hamstring and oblique injuries. The latter injury opened the door for career minor leaguer Rico Washington to enjoy his 15 minutes of fame, making the 2008 opening day roster in Ryan’s place. Ryan missed the end of April and the first half of May last season due to the hamstring.
Brian Walton can be reached via email at brian@thecardinalnationblog.com. Also catch his Cardinals commentary daily at The Cardinal Nation blog. Follow Brian on Twitter.
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