Baltimore Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy is headed to the 15-day disabled list with a hairline fracture in his left foot and is expected to miss at least six weeks, according to ESPN.
Hardy, 33, was injured in the fourth inning of Sunday’s game against the Chicago White Sox when he fouled a pitch off his foot. He finished his plate appearance with a walk, but would later exit the game in the top of the sixth inning.
A three-time Gold Glove Award winner, the Orioles are just 32-46 without Hardy in the lineup since 2012. The two-time All-Star was hitting 2.44 with two home runs and seven RBIs this season, but is only one of four starting shortstops without an error this season.
At Delray Beach Podiatry, Dr. Ian S. Goldbaum, a podiatric physician and surgeon with over 30 years of experience, has treated numerous fractures of the foot and, although not much information is known at this time, can offer insight into what exactly Hardy’s treatment and recovery could entail.
“He probably has a non-displaced fracture into the bone,” said Dr. Goldbaum. “At three weeks, they’ll X-ray it to make sure there’s bone granulation, which is the formation of the bone callus that acts bridge of woven bone between the fracture fragments.”
A hairline fracture, also known as a stress fracture, is a small crack in a bone, or severe bruising within a bone. These fractures occur most often in the second and third metatarsals in the foot, which are thinner (and often longer) than the adjacent first metatarsal.
After Hardy’s likely re-evaluation in three weeks, Dr. Goldbaum notes that although there are numerous advanced treatment methods that can be used to expedite the healing process, it’ll take at least six weeks for the bone to fully heal.
“It takes six weeks for bone to mend,” said Dr. Goldbaum. “They might utilize a bone stimulator, which sends an electrical charge into the bone to bring the two ends of the bone together and speed up the healing process, but that still won’t heal the injury faster than six weeks.”
Although the Orioles would certainly love to have him back in the lineup as soon as possible, returning to activity too soon after a stress fracture would put Hardy at risk for larger, harder-to-heal stress fractures or chronic problems.
Once his pain has subsided, a doctor will likely confirm that Hardy’s stress fracture has healed by taking x-rays or (CT) scan. In the meantime, Hardy should be able to begin rehabilitation before the bone has fully healed, slowly working on range of motion in order to return to game shape.
At this point, Dr. Goldbaum believes the initial reports of Hardy’s 6-8 week recovery are accurate, but he wouldn’t be surprised if he returns on the earlier end of that estimate.
“If he is able to begin rehabilitation early in the recovery process and there are no problems with his bone granulation, I wouldn’t be surprised if he returns to the lineup in 6-7 weeks,” he said.
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16244 S. Military Trail #290, Delray Beach, FL 33445
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