Jordan Zimmermann to Have "Tommy John" Surgery

Posted by Dave Nichols | Monday, August 10, 2009 | , , , | 0 comments »

According to the Washington Post, RHP Jordan Zimmermann has a tear in the ligament in his pitching elbow and will require ligament replacement surgery.

"It's not good news," interim general manager Mike Rizzo said early this evening. "We got a second opinion today from Dr. [James] Andrews which confirmed what our own doctor said: a tear in the ligament. We'll get a third opinion, probably tomorrow, which we expect will lead to Tommy John surgery. After we get the third opinion, the player, his agent, everybody involved will decide who does the surgery and when."

This is just the worst possible news. With full-blown TJ surgery, the Nationals can expect Zimmermann to miss 18-24 months.

Rizzo went on to mention that TJ surgery has a higher recovery success rate than labrum surgery, but either way, this removes Zimmermann from any plans for the next two seasons.

In a word, devastating.

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