Greg Bird won’t be the word(s) at Yankee Stadium for at least the next six weeks.
So much for the anonymous insider who, through the New York Daily News‘ Bill Madden, questioned the legitimacy of the 24-year-old’s ankle injury earlier this month, huh?
MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch was among the first to report the news that Bird will undergo surgery on the injured ankle that has kept him on the sidelines since early May.
#Yankees 1B Greg Bird will have surgery on his right ankle. They're expecting a six-week recovery, according to Joe Girardi.
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) July 17, 2017
Assuming that six-week recovery is accurate and that Bird doesn’t suffer any setbacks along the way, he’d be on track to return to the Bronx right around the time that rosters expand in the beginning of September.
Of course, we can’t assume anything when it comes to Bird’s recovery.
Six games into an early June rehab stint in the minors, he suffered a knee contusion that put everything on hold. Shortly thereafter, he received a cortisone shot in his injured ankle, but that wasn’t able to alleviate the discomfort he felt.
Now, he’s headed under the knife for the second time, having undergone season-ending shoulder surgery in February 2016.
While the Yankees and their fans hope that this procedure solves the mystery of Bird’s ankle issues, it only continues to cloud what once appeared to be a bright future at first base for the youngster.
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