On Monday Washington Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon made a diving play in the field and suffered a bruised knee. He was expected to be back on Friday, but the injury turned out to be a bit more serious than the team initially believed.
Earlier today the Nationals announced Rendon suffered a mild sprain of his left MCL and will miss more time. The 24-year-old is expected to simply need rest to help heal the injury and no procedure will be required.
"It wasn't getting better as quickly as we thought it would and he wanted it to be," said manager Matt Williams via Todd Dybas of the Washington Times. "We got an [X-ray] of it yesterday. So, it's a mild sprain. We'll shut him down for a few days. Make sure that it's good ... There's no issue with strength, it's not loose. It's a very mild sprain, but we just want to be cautious with it and that when he gets back out there, he doesn't feel pain."
We're assuming Rendon suffered a Grade 1 sprain, which occurs when the ligament is mildly damaged after it has been slightly stretched, but is still able to keep the knee joint stable, according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. The knee joint relies on the MCL for stability because it connects the femur to the tibia. The University of California San Francisco Medical Center says the injury takes a few days to a week and a half to sufficiently heal, including for athletes, and once it is fully healed there should be "minimum long-term effects" if there was no previous damage to the knee.
The team will need to let Rendon take his time healing and rehabbing to avoid further setbacks that might create a lingering issue, and that's likely what they'll do based on Williams' assessment of the injury.
However, this is yet another concern for the Nationals, who have been regarded as the favorites to win the World Series because of their stacked starting rotation. The team is also dealing with injuries to Denard Span (abdomen), Jayson Werth (shoulder) and Stephen Strasburg (ingrown toenail). Span is expected to be out until May after undergoing surgery and it's unknown if Werth will be ready for the beginning of the season as he continues to recover from his offseason procedure. Strasburg was forced to pitch in a simulated game because of his injury after giving up two earned runs in 1 2/3 innings in his first start this spring.
None of these injuries are too significant, but the Nationals will need their offense to stay consistent throughout the year if they want to go deep into the postseason. Having Rendon, Span and Werth out of action all at the same time doesn't help.
We witnessed their anemic offense in 2014 that contributed to their LDS loss to the Giants. Injuries this early on in the season will make it harder for the team to start establishing continuity.
