The busy Kiwoom Heroes have been hit with a string of injuries.
Ahead of their upcoming game against the KT Wiz at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Wednesday, Kiwoom announced that Won Jong-hyun, Lim Ji-yeol, and Shin Jun-woo are out. The organization also announced the waiver of Edison Russell and the signing of replacement Ronnie Dawson.
Won Jong-hyun, who signed a four-year, 2.5 billion won free agent contract with Kiwoom before the season, was ruled out for the season after undergoing elbow surgery after appearing in just 20 games in the first half. Won will undergo surgery to remove bone fragments from his elbow on Aug. 20, followed by ligament reconstruction on Aug. 2. He is expected to take more than a year to return. 먹튀검증
Lim complained of pain after being hit in the right hand by a 13km/h forkball from opposing pitcher Kim Jae-yoon in the bottom of the ninth inning against KT on Aug. 12. He finished the game, but a medical examination revealed that his right thumb was fractured and he needed surgery. Lim is scheduled to undergo surgery on Thursday and is expected to take about four weeks to recover.
Shin Jun-woo also injured his ankle in the third inning against KT. A medical examination revealed a left triangular ligament injury, which will require a recovery period of four to six weeks.
Russell, who last appeared for the first team against the Hanwha Eagles on June 16, was eventually substituted. With Russell on the injured reserve list with a wrist injury and no indication of when he would return in the second half, Kiwoom pulled out his second foreign player substitution card in the first half alone. After claiming Russell off waivers, Keum quickly added outfielder Ronnie Dawson to the roster to start the second half without a foreign player.
Kiwoom hasn’t exactly been living up to expectations this season with a two-hit shutout, sitting in ninth place (38-45-2, .458 winning percentage). To make matters worse, he was hit with an injury nightmare before he even finished the first half, setting him up for a tough second half.