ATLANTA — It was just over a year ago when baseball experts and Atlanta Braves fans were wondering if Mike Soroka was going to be the Braves ace pitcher for the next decade.
Now the questions are starting to rise as to whether he’ll be able to pitch for the team any time in the near future.
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The Braves say Soroka, who was already trying to recover from an Achilles tendon tear back on August 3rd of 2020, did the same thing again just two days ago on June 24 while walking to work at Truist Park.
Medical Update on Mike Soroka –
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) June 26, 2021
This past Thursday while walking to the clubhouse at Truist Park, Mike Soroka felt a pop in his right Achilles.
The team says Soroka was immediately taken for an MRI where it was discovered he’d re-torn the tendon, putting an end to his 2021 season before it ever really got started.
An MRI was performed, which revealed a complete re-tear of the tendon. Soroka will require season-ending surgery, which will be scheduled within the week.
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) June 26, 2021
The Braves had been hopeful they’d see Soroka pitch at some point this season.
After rehabbing the 2020 injury, he appeared in the team’s final Spring Training game this year before the team left Florida to start the regular season.
However he was immediately shut down after feeling inflammation in the area shortly after the first appearance. Soroka would eventually land at his orthopedic doctors office in Green Bay, WI where it was believed the inflammation had been caused by stitches that had not dissolved from his initial repair surgery.
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After discovering the cause for the inflammation, the team was optimistic Soroka might make it back before this season ended. There had been reports he’d been ramping up throwing the ball and it was possibly he could have returned in late August.
Recovery from surgery on the Achilles takes four to six months which could allow Soroka to return in 2022 assuming he has no further set backs.
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The injury plagued Braves have struggled in 2021, they have struggled to defend their National League East title and are 36-39 nearly half way through the season. Going into Saturday night’s game vs. Cincinnati, the Braves are five games behind the division leading New York Mets.
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