baseball player-injury

▲ This July 11, 2023, file photo provided by the Kiwoom Heroes shows the club's outfielder Lee Jung-hoo. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

baseball player-injury

Reigning KBO MVP Lee Jung-hoo out 3 months with ankle injury

SEOUL, July 24 (Yonhap) -- The reigning South Korean baseball MVP Lee Jung-hoo will be sidelined for about three months with ankle injury, his club announced Monday.

The Kiwoom Heroes of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) said Lee has been diagnosed with damage to extensor retinaculum surrounding tendons in his left ankle. It will require surgery, and the Heroes said the rehab could take about three months.

Lee was removed from Saturday's game against the Lotte Giants and was placed on the injured list the following day. Further tests done on Monday revealed the extent of his injury. The Heroes said Lee will undergo more tests Tuesday and then schedule his surgery.

Accounting for canceled games to be made up later in the year, the regular season could end sometime in October, which means Lee is essentially out for season. Lee will also likely miss the Asian Games, which will start in late September in Hangzhou, China.

If he returns in October, he could end up playing crucial games for the Heroes. Through Sunday's action, the Heroes were in eighth place at 40-47-2 (wins-losses-ties), 2.5 games out of the fifth and final postseason spot.

This is an important season for Lee on a more personal level, as he is set to be posted by the Heroes for interested Major League Baseball clubs during the offseason.

Through 85 games this year, Lee was batting .319/.407/.456 with six home runs and 45 RBIs. He has walked 49 times and struck out just 23 times in 386 plate appearances.

Lee began the season batting only .218 in April, the lowest monthly batting average of his career. Since May 1, though, Lee has batted .355, the third-highest mark in the KBO, with a league-best 86 hits.

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