Ryan Howard has Ruptured Achilles Tendon

Ryan Howard’s injury has been confirmed to be as bad as the Phillies feared.  Howard has ruptured his Achilles tendon, and Philadelphia says that their big first baseman could miss the first few months of the 2012 season.

Howard sustained the injury while making the lastout of Friday’s NLDS finale.  After grounding a ball to the right side of the infield, Howard tried to plant and make his way towards first base.  It looks like that first motion is what caused the rupture, as Howard came up limping immediately.  He took a few steps towards the bag and ultimately collapsed right beside the first base line.

With the Cardinals celebrating their game five victory and NLCS berth, Howard had to be helped off the field.  Assisted by a coach and trainer, Howard was unable to put much weight at all on his injured leg.

An MRI taken Saturday confirmed the original diagnosis of a ruptured tendon.  Howard will not be able to move forward with surgery until his swelling is reduced.  Any sort of recovery timeframe will be unknown until after Howard undergoes surgery.  While nothing is certain at this point, there is a chance that Howard wouldn’t be ready in time for Spring Training or the beginning of the 2012 regular season.

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