Indians lefty Andrew Miller has been diagnosed with “patellofemoral syndrome” in his right knee, per a club announcement (via Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer, on Twitter). At this point, he’ll just need to be shut down for five days to a week before being reevaluated.
The diagnosis doesn’t appear to be all that concerning. Rather, it’s a common condition that can occur when cartilage underneath the kneecap is not functioning properly. It seems likely that the club will largely be looking to get the inflammation and discomfort under control before allowing Miller to ramp back up.
All told, then, the news is as good as the Indians could have hoped for. Certainly, when Miller left his most recent outing after sitting well below his usual velocity level, there were some fears it could be worse. The key fact is that there’s no bone, muscle, or ligament damage. And the relatively short rest period that has been prescribed seemingly indicates that doctors anticipate the joint ought to respond fairly quickly to treatment.
Cleveland has been hit with a sudden rash of injuries, with Danny Salazar and Jason Kipnis also just heading to the DL. Players such as Josh Tomlin, Michael Brantley, and Lonnie Chisenhall are all on the shelf as well, so the Indians still have quite a few notable players working back toward full health. Fortunately, the team maintains a sturdy, 5.5-game lead in the AL Central, so there’s a decent bit of cushion to work with.
It sounds so much worse than it is.. “Patellofemoral Syndrome”?
Lmao
Regardless, Get better soon Mr. Miller.
Downside is it may be chronic issue if caused due to wearing away of cartilage.
Arthroscopic surgery can likely alleviate most of the symptoms this offseason. I say that from experience.
about as good as you can hope. really need him down the stretch run, there’s no other millers out there
Reggie disagrrees
Bummer.
we’re basically the Columbus Clippers
Nothing a Cortizone shot couldn’t fix.
That’s way too long of a word for him to only be missing 6 games.
Well, it is actually two words.
I saw that big medical term and immediately assumed forced retirement.
Whew.
None of these injuries are serious, they’ve just happened around the same time. The only one of this group who is likely to be out for the post season is Kipnis who seems to be prone to neck and hamstring issues on an ongoing basis.