Shuhei Ohtani will not play again this season after the Champions League was torn apart. MLB Major hits a home run in the same game

CNN
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Los Angeles Angels general manager Perry Minassian has confirmed that Shohei Ohtani will not play again in the 2023 MLB season after suffering a torn ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his right elbow.

The 2021 MLS Player of the Year started Game 1 with the Angels’ double header against the Cincinnati Reds before having to leave the mound early in the second half after hitting two batters in the game.

“We did filming between games, he has a tear, and he won’t play the rest of the year,” Minassian told reporters after the match. “We’ll get a second opinion, we go from there, but it’s basically daily. It’s obviously a hit. But that’s where we are.”

Angels GM confirmed that he did not know the degree of rupture.

Ohtani has had a busy year so far with the Angels and is highly expected to pick up another AL MVP award at the end of the campaign. The “Sho-time” also now leads Major League Baseball (MLB) in home runs of the year after hitting 44th for the season.

In the bottom of the first inning, Ohtani smashed a two-run homer to right field by Andrew Abbott to give the Angels an early lead.

Angels fans are hoping the Japanese star can keep scoring goals throughout the season, as he did in game two, but Minassian isn’t sure if Ohtani will carry on his performance after his injury.

“I don’t know what to expect,” Minassian said when asked if Ohtani would continue working for the rest of the year. “We’ll go day by day and see how it goes. I think he feels what he feels when we get more information, in terms of recovery time and all that stuff. We’ll have more information in the future.”

The 29-year-old has had an unparalleled workload during his time in MLB, but Minassian said Ohtani pulled it off.

“I will not put any restrictions on players in general, and especially him,” Minassian added. “He has shown that it is possible to do and excel at it.

“I expect him to bounce back and do what he needs to do to get back to where he was.”

Ohtani has previous experience recovering from an injury in the Champions League.

In September 2018, Ohtani underwent Tommy John surgery to repair damage to his UCL. The two-way star returned to the MLB in May of the following year as a hitter. Ohtani then returned to the mound in July 2020.

The Angels ended up losing Game 1 to the Reds, 9-4. Cincinnati also took game two with a 7-3 win to drop the Angels to 61-67 on the season.