“Everything went pretty well”: they estimate that Shohei Ohtani will return next season as a hitter after elbow surgery

Florida- Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani underwent elbow surgery on Tuesday, and his doctor is confident that he will be eligible to hit on Opening Day of next season and return as a pitcher by 2025.

Ohtani tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow on August 23, ending his pitching season. He continued as a hitter until September 3, when he suffered an oblique strain.

Los Angeles Dodgers chief medical officer Neal ElAttrache performed the operation Tuesday at the Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute in Los Angeles. ElAttrache performed Tommy John surgery on Ohtani in October 2018.

“This morning I had a surgical procedure performed on my elbow and everything went quite well.”Ohtani expressed in a post on Instagram. “Thank you so much for everyone’s prayers and kind words. It was very unfortunate that I couldn’t finish the year on the field, but I will support the boys until the end. “I will work as hard as possible and do my best to return to the diamond stronger than ever.”

“The final decision and type of procedure were made with great emphasis on the big picture,” said the Japanese star’s agent, Nez Balelo.

“Shohei wanted to make sure that the direction he took allowed him to hit and pitch for many, many more years.”