Pirates IF Kang Out At Least 4 Weeks After Wrist Surgery
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PITTSBURGH (KDKA/AP) – Jung Ho Kang underwent surgery for a wrist injury Friday morning and will be out for at least four weeks.
The Pirates announced Kang had surgery Friday morning to debride cartilage in his left wrist.
Kang first began experiencing discomfort in his wrist on June 20. He said he felt recurrent discomfort during batting practice Tuesday afternoon and decided Thursday to undergo surgery at Allegheny Health Network.
According to the Pirates, the typical return to play after this type of surgery is four to six weeks.
"The Pirates are very appreciative that Dr. Birdsong was able to clear a time slot on his schedule to expedite the timing of the surgery," the team said in a statement.
In June, Kang was reinstated and sent to Triple-A Indianapolis. He missed all of last season and the first part of this year because of visa issues.
Kang was unable to secure a work visa to travel from his native South Korea to the United States after he was arrested for DUI for a third time in December 2016 in Seoul. He received an eight-month suspended prison sentence.
Kang finished third in the 2015 NL Rookie of the Year voting after becoming the first native South Korean position player to make the jump from the Korea Baseball Organization to the major leagues. He hit .287 with 15 homers in 126 games that season, and then .255 with 21 homers in 103 games in 2016.
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