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Derek Holland injury update: Holland's microfracture surgery on his left knee was less serious and involved than the microfracture surgery that Scott Feldman underwent in November, 2010, according to Holland, and thus he expects his recovery time to be shorter.
This comes via the beat writers who are at FanFest today:
Rangers Derek Holland said his microfracture surgery wasn't the same as Scott Feldman's. Not as involved.
— Anthony Andro (@aandro) January 25, 2014
Derek Holland also says that his microfacture surgery and knee injury is not as severe as Scott Feldman's was. Should recover sooner.
— Jeff Wilson (@JeffWilson_FWST) January 25, 2014
Some fans and media members have said that, since Feldman underwent microfracture surgery in November, 2010, and didn't pitch in the majors until late July, 2011, we should expect Holland (who underwent surgery in January of this year) to miss the entire 2014 season, not just the first half of the season, as has been initially reported.
That timeline, however, ignores that Feldman was major league ready in late June of that year, but was left in the minors on his rehab assignment because the Rangers had no room for him on the major league staff. The Rangers tried to outright him during the All Star Break in 2011, but he refused the outright assignment, meaning the Rangers had to bring him up, and then he didn't get into a game for a while once activated.
In any case, we'll have to wait and see how Holland's recovery progresses. If his recovery is quicker than Feldman's, then he could be back around the All Star Break. After what happened with Colby Lewis and Matt Harrison last year, though -- with both pitchers missing the entire season, after being expected to be back by August -- its understandable folks would be suspicious of a quicker timetable.
