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According to the Twins' Executive Vice President and Chief Baseball Officer, Derek Falvey, Sano was flown back to Minnesota on Monday to have his wound readdressed by doctors at the Mayo Clinic.
“He’s out of the picture right now for Opening Day, that’s the most noteworthy piece,” said Falvey. "This was the right step to proceed, to have the healing going a little more the way we had hoped, we’re looking at baseball activity again in the middle of April.”
Factor in a rehab stint and the Twins are projecting an early May return.
The procedure, performed by Dr. Nho Tran at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, will keep Sano off his feet for several days at which point he will be placed in a hard cast to restrict movement. When that is removed, if the healing has progressed, he will return to the walking boot for another week. In all, he could be back on the field and going through an abbreviated spring training process by early April.
Sano initially cut his foot while celebrating his team's Dominican Winter League championship in San Pedro de Macoris.
"The entire town came out. [At the stage], the president of the team called every player up, one by one, to say thank you for the support," Sano told the Star Tribune. "Someone dropped liquid on the stage, someone else slipped, that person pushed me, I slipped down the starts and I caught my [heel] on them."
The initial wound, which required stitches, eventually had a low grade infection that the Twins treated.
The area around the wound, which was more of a blunt cut than a clean one, is taut and the movement prior to the placement of the walking boot damaged the sutures from the stress. At that time, the Twins medical staff consulted numerous specialists and determined that the best course of action was to reinsert sutures, attack it aggressively with treatment, and wait to see how it responded. Reassessed after ten days and not seeing the results they desired, the team's medical staff felt that it was in Sano's best interest to clean and close the wound again.
During this process, the Twins have been pleased with the amount of work Sano has continued to put in despite being limited in a boot. He has spent significant time in the weight room.
"I saw him sweating more frequently than I thought I would given that he’s wearing a boot," Falvey said.
"There is not a disappointment in anything about Miguel," manager Rocco Baldelli said. "There’s more of a disappointment for him, I actually feel bad that he’s dealing with what he’s dealing with."
With a stint on the injury list, it is likely that Marwin Gonzalez will go forward as the team's Opening Day starting third baseman.
"I think we said when we signed Marwin, one of the benefits to having Marwin is that he will play multiple positions and fill for you if there is an issue in one spot," said Falvey. "This is an issue in one spot right now.”
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