The NC Dinos received some unfortunate news.

“Unfortunately, I have an injury to my ankle,” NC head coach Kang Myung-ho said of catcher Kim Hyung-jun (24) before the team’s home game against the Doosan Bears at Changwon NC Park on Tuesday. Kim underwent anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction surgery on his right knee in August last year while serving in the military with the Sangmu Baseball Team. For a catcher who has to squat throughout the game, a knee injury can be devastating. After being discharged from the military in September, he returned to the team and spent some time rehabbing. In February, he worked out at the Masan Rehabilitation Center instead of the Arizona first team spring training.메이저사이트

He recently broke his long hiatus. On the 12th, he played in the Futures (second team) league game against the KIA Tigers, which was his first official game, but he hasn’t played in the second team since the 24th. “He must have stepped on the ball during practice after the Futures game. There is some damage to the ligaments in his right ankle,” he said.

Kim Hyung-jun, who graduated from Segwang High School, was selected by the Dinos with the ninth overall pick in the second round of the 2018 Rookie Draft. He made his first-team debut in 2018 and gained experience as a backup to Kim Tae-gun (now with the Samsung Lions) and Yang Yang-ji (now with the Doosan Bears), most notably in 2020, when he batted .306 (24-for-72) with three home runs and 11 RBIs in 44 games.

His on-base percentage (0.390) and slugging percentage (0.444) were both respectable, and he was touted as NC’s next big thing. On the field, he was described as having “the highest potential among catchers in their early 20s in the KBO.” Manager Kang Myung-hyun had planned to use him in the first team immediately after Kim Hyung-joon’s discharge in September last year, but unexpected injuries forced him to revise his strategy.

With Park Se-hyuk and Ahn Joong-yeol in the bullpen, NC eagerly awaited Kim’s return. It was a good card to strengthen their catcher depth. But when he finished his knee rehabilitation, he injured his ankle. “I don’t know how long the rehabilitation (treatment) will be, but I think he will have to go through it again for at least a month,” Kang said.