Cubs Byrd Out Until July

Added on Jun 01, 2011 by Scott in

MLB

The fastball that drilled Cubs outfielder Marlon Byrd in the face on May 21st is expected to keep him sidelined until July. A four to six week timetable for recovery has been set by team doctors. Byrd suffered multiple fractures to his face, but was fortunate the damage wasn’t more severe. A couple inches higher might’ve cost him his career.

A direct hit to his eye would’ve have likely resulted in him losing his eye sight. As it was, the swelling around his eye was enough to cause Byrd concern.

“I didn’t want to lose my vision,” Byrd said. “The re-bleeding, they were worried about that. The clot, making sure that healed and washed away. And the pressure in the eye, they didn’t want to mess with that. I got off the dilating drops. I’m still on the steroid drops. I’ve got an appointment [Wednesday], and hopefully I can get a full clean bill of health.”

Bottom line: Byrd is extremely lucky. He began running with teammates prior to today’s game for the first time since the incident. As long as things continue to progress positively, the 33-year-old outfielder could return for the July 1-3 weekend series.

The ten-year veteran is off to a solid start in 2011. In 44 games, he is hitting .308 with three home runs and eleven RBI. He was named to his first All-Star team in 2010 and finished the season with a .293 average, 12 homers, 66 RBI and a career-best 170 hits.

Rookie Tony Campana had filled in for Byrd during his absence. In the seven starts since the injury, Campana is batting a meager .238 with zero home runs and RBI. The Cubs outfield is getting thinner by the day. Alfonso Soriano just hit the 15-day disabled list with a quad strain and Reed Johnson is nursing a bad back.

Chicago is lingering near the bottom of the NL Central, nine games behind division-leading St. Louis.

Source: ESPN.com