The initial phases of the New York Mets’ timeline for their injured ace starter Kodai Senga have been made public.
Senga will not be able to throw for three weeks after receiving a PRP injection in his shoulder, as Mets manager Carlos Mendoza informed reporters on Sunday morning.
Mendoza seemed upbeat over Senga’s injection, but he mentioned that their pitcher still needs to recoup from the therapy before he is examined and given the all-clear to resume throwing in three weeks.
However, it’s encouraging that Senga and the Mets now know more precisely when he might be able to get back on the mound than they did when president of baseball operations David Stearns expressed uncertainty after the first diagnosis earlier this week.
In other words, before Senga can start tossing, his symptoms still need to go away. The Mets are optimistic that with recuperation and therapy, that will occur.
The righty will need to strengthen his arm and ramp up in order to prepare for live pitching after he is cleared. For this reason, Senga is already expected to open the regular season on the injured list by the Mets. How long will this last? That’s uncertain and will depend on how successfully or poorly his rehabilitation proceeds.
The good news is that Stearns anticipates Senga to start a lot of games for the Mets this season. This could indicate that the Mets believe Senga won’t miss more than two months at most, but in the upcoming weeks, we’ll find out for sure.