Dodgers News: Clayton Kershaw is Going to Be Out Longer Than Anticipated

Not what the Dodgers needed right now...

The tough injury news just keeps coming for the Dodgers this season. Prior to their opening game of the second half of the season against the New York Mets, manager Dave Roberts gave an update on the potential return for Clayton Kershaw from the injured list during an appearance with MLB Network Radio. Needless to say, it wasn’t a positive one.

Roberts said that the team is hoping that their injured stat could get back at the beginning of August, going against what he originally said when Kershaw got hurt. Now the left-handed veteran will likely be out for a few more weeks which is awful news for LA.

“So I think for us, it’s kind of trying to figure out where we get Clayton back. Which is the hope at the beginning of August.”

Per MLB Network Radio

The Dodgers are hoping it won't be long before Clayton Kershaw returns to their rotation.@Dodgers pic.twitter.com/GCIPWM05Xf

— MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (@MLBNetworkRadio) July 14, 2023

Kershaw was supposed to only be out for a short amount of time after dealing with a shoulder issue that forced him to leave his last start early. The team was looking to get him back right after the All-Star break concluded but now it’ll be longer until he takes the mound again.

He was having one of his better seasons prior to the injury so this is a big blow to the Dodgers starting rotation. For the year, Kershaw is 10-4 with a 2.55 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP. He looked like he could possibly be on track to win another Cy Young Award but with him being forced to miss extended time, that may not be the case any longer.

Fabian Ardaya also gave an update to back up the claim made by Roberts. This indeed is a big blow to the Dodgers for the next few weeks while Kershaw remains out.

Clayton Kershaw said he indeed will be back later than anticipated after receiving an MRI. He didn’t want to get into what specifically was wrong; said he feels fine. But doctors want to give his shoulder time to “heal.” Said early Aug., as Dave Roberts said, is a fair timeline.

— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) July 14, 2023

The team will miss his production but if we have learned anything it's that it's hard to trust injury updates now. This isn't the first time that we have seen this happen this season so going forward, take any update with a grain of salt.

The hope is that he can rest up and come back even stronger for the team's stretch run. They need him if they want to make noise come playoff time so being cautious can be a good thing here.