Red Sox ace Sale confident he'll be strong after Tommy John

BOSTON (AP) — Red Sox left-hander Chris Sale says he has no regrets about the timing of his recent Tommy John surgery and is confident he can return as a stronger pitcher following his yearlong rehab.

Sale had the procedure on his left elbow on March 30, getting his ulnar collateral ligament replaced by Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles. The Red Sox said the surgery was a success.

Sale is expected to miss 14-15 months, which would put him on track to return in the middle of the 2021 season.

The Boston ace said having observed and interacted with several teammates and friends who had the surgery helped put his mind at ease about the road he has ahead of him to get back on the mound.

“That’s kind of making the light at the tunnel a little bit brighter,” he said during a conference call on Tuesday. “If you’re telling me all I have to do is work really hard rehabbing this elbow, we’re in. There’s no more discussion. So I have a lot of confidence going forward to know that my elbow is gonna be better than it was before. Hopefully I’m get 10 more great years out of it.”

Sale plans to rehab at Boston's spring training facility in Fort Myers, Florida, when it reopens. But in the meantime he said he is equipped to begin the process at home while coronavirus social distancing restrictions remain in place.

The 31-year-old missed the start of spring training with an illness the team described as a flu that it said turned into pneumonia. The Red Sox then revealed he had a flexor strain near the elbow, but the team hoped he would avoid ligament replacement surgery.

Sale said he first noticed an issue after throwing a batting practice session in Fort Myers. He said he was feeling fine during the workout, getting up to 92 mph with his fastball. But hours later, he started feeling nervous after feeling...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Red-Sox-ace-Sale-confident-he-ll-be-strong-after-15184925.php