News
Sizemore's elbow surgery successful
Outfielder awaits procedure on abdominal wall
By Anthony Castrovince / MLB.com
09/09/09 12:17 PM ET
CLEVELAND -- One surgery down, one to go. That's the count for Grady Sizemore, who underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on his left elbow Wednesday morning at the Cleveland Clinic. Team medical director Dr. Mark Schickendantz performed the 30-minute procedure, which addressed the inflammation in the elbow. Next up for Sizemore is surgery on Sept. 16 to address his unstable left abdominal wall -- an irregularity known as an "athletic pubalgia." That surgery will be performed by Dr. Bill Meyers in Philadelphia. Sizemore was bothered by both conditions throughout the 2009 season. The elbow problem, which he did not point out to team trainers until May, affected his throws from the outfield, and the abdominal issue, which stemmed from a groin strain, kept him from participating in the World Baseball Classic and limited his ability on the basepaths. Though Sizemore got off to a rough start to the 2009 season, his production markedly improved after resting on the disabled list from May 31 to June 23. His .270 average and .843 OPS after the activation were on par with his numbers for the '07 (.277 average, .852 OPS) and '08 (.268, .876) seasons. The Indians expect Sizemore, a three-time All-Star, two-time Gold Glove winner and one-time Silver Slugger Award winner, to be fully recovered from both surgeries in time to begin his standard offseason conditioning program in November.Anthony Castrovince is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
