Padres News: Manny Machado Reportedly Underwent Successful Elbow Surgery, Return Timeline Unknown
Padres superstar Manny Machado has reportedly undergone successful elbow surgery, MLB insider Hector Gomez reported. Machado had the surgery on Tuesday in San Diego, and will now be looking at a long return to game action.
Machado did his best to tough it out for the end of the 2023 season as the Padres remained alive in postseason contention. But with every day that went by, there was a greater chance that Machado wouldn't be ready for the start of the 2024 season.
Obviously, Machado wasn't going to shut things down until San Diego was officially eliminated from postseason contention, and due to their late-season surge and a lot of luck, that ended up being later than expected.
Nevertheless, Machado finally underwent the surgery two days after the end of the regular season, and will now be facing a recovery likely around six to seven months.
It's unknown if he'll be ready to go by Opening Day, but the Padres of course will allow him to have a full recovery before rushing back on the field.
Six months from Tuesday, Oct. 3 would be the beginning of April, which would be about two weeks into the Padres' 2024 season, which opens in Seoul, South Korea on March 20 and 21. It's unlikely Machado is back by then, but of course, it's too early to tell.
Either way, it's great news that Machado had successful surgery on Tuesday. Now he enters a long offseason of rehab as the team around him likely makes tons of changes.