Jose Iglesias’s Groin Injury Should Not Be Taken Lightly

So far this spring the young phenom, Jose Iglesias has impressed everyone with his defensive wizardry.  His ability to track down balls that appear destined for base hits find his glove and his quick and accurate throws to first look a ball is ricocheting off a wall.  His offense has also been impressive, albeit a small sample to base it on, but a .300 average through his first ten at bats is more than what anyone expected.  As a result, many are beginning to wonder if he could crack the starting lineup which is just over three weeks away.

That mission has been a bit derailed due to a minor injury that Iglesias suffered last Monday.  Valentine told reporters that Iglesias didn’t say anything about the mild groin strain until Saturday night, according to Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe. Valentine stated that the Whiz Kid will be given the next three games off and when saddled with an off day on Wednesday, will accumulate to four days of rest.

This is the type of injury that should not be taken lightly.  Far too often players attempt to rush back from what they feel is a minor groin strain, only to have the strain elevate to a severe degree which then leads to weeks off the baseball field and not just days.

Take a look at the hockey players.  Whenever they have a groin strain they are out until it is 100% healed.  With all the running that baseball players encounter, the groin is continuously pulled and stretched.  One small wrong turn or tweak and Iglesias could find himself on the 60-day DL.

We saw what happened in the past couple of years with some of the Red Sox players and how they were treated by the medical staff.  It’s easy to speculate but it appeared as though some players were rushed back before their injury had completely healed, leading to a longer stint on the DL.  With a new staff in place, let’s only hope that they will take every precaution needed and hold Iglesias off until his groin has completely healed.  Otherwise his chances of making the squad out of camp will be in jeopardy.

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