Los Angeles Dodgers ace pitcher Walker Buehler underwent Tommy John surgery for the second time in his career on Tuesday and will miss the rest of the 2022 season and all of the 2023 season, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
Buehler, 28, hasn’t pitched since June 10th when he was forced out of a game due to elbow discomfort. Imaging on his elbow was unclear, and Dr. Neal ElAttrache planned surgery for Tuesday with the purpose of determining whether Buehler needed a full reconstruction of his ulnar collateral ligament.
The typical recovery time for the ligament-replacement procedure is 12 to 18 months.
“There’s no sugarcoating it,” Andrew Friedman, president of baseball operations of the Dodgers said. “It was a tough blow but we’ll get him back. I know he’s already itching.”
“It was kind of the worse-case scenario in our mind,” Friedman said.
“Tommy John Round 2 let’s roll,” Buehler said in a photo posted to Instagram. “See ya when I see ya @dodgers.”
