Johan Santana has suffered a tear of the anterior capsule of the left shoulder and will have season-ending surgery in the near future, the Mets announced Friday. Santana is unsure if he'll be ready to pitch by Opening Day.
An MRI taken at the Hospital for Special Surgery on Thursday revealed the tear. The injury is located on the front and bottom part of the shoulder close to the pectoral muscle, the team said, resulting in discomfort radiating through both the pectoral muscle and shoulder.
Santana said he will begin throwing in January but offered no specific timetable for his return to the mound.
"I think the most important thing here is to be ready to be 100 percent. Whether it's April, whether it's May, July, October ... who knows?" Santana said. "Time will tell how I recover but I've just got to go back to being healthy and being 100 percent."
Santana will get a second opinion from Dr. James Andrews early next week.
No surgery date has been set.
Santana said he was caught off guard by the doctor's diagnosis after Thursday's MRI.
"I didn't know the magnitude of the injury I had. ... It's more than what I thought," he said. "It's surprising."
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