Madison Bumgarner's dirt-bike accident will keep him out through the All-Star break
San Francisco Giants ace Madison Bumgarner has been ruled out through the All-Star break after doctors confirmed a Grade 2 sprain of his throwing shoulder.
Bumgarner suffered that injury, along with bruised ribs, in a dirt-bike accident during the team’s off day in Colorado on April 20. A Grade 2 sprain means Bumgarner partially tore ligaments and will require at least three months of rehabilitation. That would put the best-case scenario for his return around July 20.
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Here’s more from the San Jose Mercury News:
Giants orthopedist Dr. Ken Akizuki consulted with 49ers orthopedist Dr. Timothy McAdams, who sees this type of injury more often with quarterbacks after they sustain high-impact trauma when hit or slammed to the turf. The Giants and Bumgarner also sought opinions from Dr. Neal El Attrache from the Kerlan-Jobe Clinic in Los Angeles and Dr. James Andrews in Pensacola, Fla.
Bumgarner began rehab activities on Friday, though he is unable to do much at this time. Once he regains more range of motion, he can begin strengthening exercises.
Bumgarner will be evaluated again in three weeks to determine the progress of his shoulder.
Giants head athletic trainer Dave Groeschner expects Bumgarner to do everything that’s necessary to get back on the field, but also notes how important it will be for Bumgarner to be honest about how he’s feeling as to avoid any unnecessary setbacks.
“About three weeks out, we’ll see how he’s feeling,” Groeschner said. “We’ll see how much we can push or not push. Bum is a pretty conscientious person. We feel pretty good that when we ask him to do something, he’ll do it the right way and give us honest feedback, and we’ll adjust the program as needed.”
We all know how competitive Bumgarner is. Given the circumstances though, we’re sure he understands there would be no benefit to misleading his trainers or pushing too hard too soon. That’s especially true with two $12M team options on the table and a potentially massive contract looming beyond that.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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