Freddie Freeman was not in the Los Angeles Dodgers lineup for their series against the Atlanta Braves due to aggravating his right ankle injury from last season.
Freeman had been playing at less than 100% throughout Spring Training and into the regular season, but still managed to put together a productive start to the year with a 1.083 on-base plus slugging percentage thanks to a double and two home runs.
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Fortunately for Freeman and the Dodgers, the injury was nothing too serious and shouldn’t affect his availability long-term. While the cause of his injury was the result of a freak accident, it was the timing of the injury that was disappointing for Freeman.
“It’s frustrating because I was actually feeling pretty good. The third game in a row of the Tigers series, it was getting a little stiff at the end,” he said this week. “Playing back-to-back-to-back, it was feeling a little stiff, but nothing to be worried about. I was like, ‘Oh, good an off day. I’ll be able to recover.’
“About 10:15, halfway through my morning coffee, I showered to get ready for the day and next thing I know, I’m down in the bathtub. You slip in bathtub showers all the time, and when you’re healthy, you catch yourself. Mostly, I think it just flared everything back up.
“I was a little sore, it’s sore on the inside still, but I’m feeling much better.”
After a full day of treatment, Freeman was able to drive home from Dodger Stadium without any assistance, which left him feeling much more relived. He feels especially lucky because of how much worse the situation could have been.
“I did an X-ray, and there’s no chips or anything like that,” he said. “I literally stepped in with my right food, and it slid. I went down. It’s a glass door, so it could’ve been so much worse. I could’ve hit my head or something like that. I’m very thankful it was just a little mishap with my ankle.
“I’m feeling good today. I’m going to go hit, and if hitting goes well, I’ll come out here and run a few sprints. Just trying to check all the boxes to get back out there.”
The shower Freeman slipped in was in an extra bedroom at his home. He needed to use it because of ongoing repairs to his primary shower, which have since been completed.
The incident is not the first time Freeman and the Dodgers have caught a break with respect to his ankle that was severely sprained during the final week of the 2024 season.
The offseason surgery to repair the damage in Freeman’s ankle was not as serious as it could’ve been. That was due to his ligaments and tendons being sufficiently healed to the point that they didn’t need to be operated on.
When is Freddie Freeman returning?
Although Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and Freeman both mentioned Wednesday for a possible return, the All-Star first baseman sensed the team would prefer to keep him out of the lineup until the start of their road trip.
But Freeman being back in the Dodgers lineup on Friday is hardly a guarantee, particularly with inclement weather in the forecast for their series against the Philadelphia Phillies.
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