ATLANTA (AP) -It’s going to be a while before Chipper Jones returns to the Braves lineup.
While the injured third baseman is eligible to come off the disabled list Friday, he will likely need several more weeks to recover from two injured wrists.
Jones had two cortisone shots in his left hand and one in his right hand in hopes of lessening the pain. He also is wearing a brace on each wrist.
“It’s a bone bruise,” he said before Tuesday’s doubleheader against the Florida Marlins. “But it’s right where the ligament meets the bone.”
For now, there’s no need for him to focus on returning to the field. Regular life is enough of a chore.
“Taking off my socks hurts,” Jones said. “Everything bugs you. If I bend my hand all the way back or down, I feel it. And every time you feel it, it’s hurting it a little bit more. That’s why I’m trying to immobilize it as much as possible.”
Jones decided on a course of treatment after meeting with Dr. Gary Lourie, a hand specialist. They considered putting hard casts on both hands for a week to 10 days, but Jones decided to go with Velcro splints because he could remove them for treatment and perhaps get back on the field quicker.
Without the casts, however, he must be careful with the simplest of tasks.
“You can aggravate it with everything you do: playing with the kids, taking off your socks, pulling up your pants,” Jones said.
He injured both wrists in a May 11 collision with the Pirates’ Jose Bautista while running the bases. Jones sat out the next four games and tried to return, but the pain never got any better. He was finally forced to the 15-day DL last week, retroactive to May 24.
The 35-year-old Jones has been plagued by injures since the 2004 season. He played only 109 games in ’05 and 110 last season, spending significant time on the DL.
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