Danks has minor shoulder tear

Share

An MRI revealed John Danks has a Grade 1 tear in his subscapularis -- a muscle in his throwing shoulder -- that will not require surgery, only rest. But there's no timetable for how long Danks will need off, let alone when he'll be ready to return to the Sox rotation.

"It's not thought to be anything real major," Danks said. "Get some rest and get back at it. I don't know any schedule at this point or anything. Its frustrating because it feels good one day and then it feels like crap the next day. So it is frustrating, but at the same time its good to actually know what were dealing with now.

"Its not anything worse, its just going to take a little longer I think than we first anticipated."

The word "tear" is certainly frightening, especially when you're talking about a pitcher's shoulder. Danks, too, shared that fear, as surgery likely would've cost him the rest of the 2012 season.

When you hear the word tear its kind of scary," Danks said. "I dont think its anything super major. I went out and pitched last week and felt fine, stuff was great. Its just having trouble bouncing back and this is the reason."

Danks, who hasn't started in the majors since May 19, threw four innings on June 12. But he experienced more soreness than expected following his outing and was checked out by renowned shoulder and elbow specialist Dr. Lewis Yocum, who found nothing serious going on in Danks' shoulder.

The diagnosis for Danks is a little worse than general manager Kenny Williams thought prior to Monday's game -- Williams viewed it as "general soreness" typical of spring training -- but without a timetable, it's tough to identify the impact the injury will have. It all depends on when Danks is healed and ready to throw again. He says it'll be at least a few days, as he needs to wait for the dye from Monday's MRI to clear his system.

While Danks' future is unclear, the Sox can take at least some comfort in how well Jose Quintana has pitched. And as long as his spot in the rotation is secure, the Sox won't need to rush Danks back.

"Its fortunate for where John is right now, on the disabled list, to be able to have an arm and a kid thats pitching the way the Quintana is, you give John as much time as he needs," Ventura said before Monday's game. "We dont want to rush him back and try to push him in there before hes ready. I think thats the cushion and the convenience of having a guy pitching as well as Q."

Contact Us