Houston Astros infielder Carlos Correa has suffered a torn tendon in his left ankle and will undergo season-ending surgery, he said Wednesday.
Correa told reporters that he suffered a “complete tear” while taking swings in the batting cage before Tuesday’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He estimated that the recovery process would take six to eight months.
Correa, 31, said he was going through his normal routine in the batting cage, took a swing and “just felt it pop.”
“It just completely snapped on me and then I fell to the ground,” Correa told reporters. “I couldn’t put weight on it. … Right away, I knew something was wrong.”
Correa was on crutches and in a walking boot Wednesday morning at the ballpark after seeing a foot specialist. He said he would seek some other opinions before scheduling the surgery.
He is batting .279 with three home runs and 16 RBIs this season. He had played 14 games at third base but has seen action in 23 games at shortstop after Jeremy Pena went down with a hamstring injury.
“Very tough,” Correa told reporters. “Not what I was expecting, but now it’s time to deal with it, face it head on, and focus on the rehab.”
It’s yet another blow to an Astros team that has dealt with scores of injuries this season, including an oblique injury to Yainer Diaz that landed the catcher on the injured list Tuesday.
The Astros reacquired Correa, a two-time All-Star, from the Minnesota Twins at the trade deadline last July.
Correa signed a six-year, $200 million deal prior to the 2023 season after the Twins signed off on his medicals despite concerns from a 2014 surgery on his lower right leg. Flagged physicals kept him from reaching long-term agreements with the San Francisco Giants (13 years, $350 million) and New York Mets (12 years, $315 million) in free agency.
A former No. 1 pick out of high school in Puerto Rico in 2012, Correa, the 2015 AL Rookie of the Year, was one of the faces of an Astros team that won the World Series in 2017 — though the club was later found to have been stealing signs during that season — and became the most successful American League franchise in recent years.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
