Nearly six weeks after partially tearing a ligament in his right ring finger, Boston Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony says his left-wrist rehab is progressing, but much slower than he expected—after pain kept him from resuming true swings and the club has not
At Fenway Park, Roman Anthony walked reporters through the same truth he’s been living with since early May: his wrist is improving, but not fast enough to match what he hoped he’d be doing by now.
Nearly six weeks after his injury on May 4 against the Detroit Tigers, the Boston Red Sox outfielder told reporters before Saturday’s game against the Texas Rangers that he’s progressing through rehab—just far more slowly than he imagined at the beginning.
“It’s progressing. progressing a lot slower than I’d imagined at the beginning of this. but definitely progressing. which is the biggest thing. ” Anthony said. “It’s just pain. that’s what it was and until it’s not that I’ll be here. but as soon as it feels like it starts to get a whole lot better I’m sure we’ll have a better idea of where we’re at and how it’s going to go from here.”.
Anthony, 22, said he swings a light bat when he feels up for it once in a while, but he isn’t taking true swings yet. His injury sidelined him starting May 4, and the team has treated it as a partial ligament tear.
A setback late last month has continued to shape his rehab timeline. Anthony attempted to hit off a tee on May 28, but experienced pain in his hand and hasn’t resumed taking true swings since then. Since that attempt, he said he has taken “light” swings, though not routinely.
Anthony explained that the discomfort isn’t the kind of agony that would prevent any movement, but it’s enough to limit what he can do.
“Obviously it’s not agonizing pain if we’re swinging at this point, but it’s enough pain to where we’re not doing more than the amount that we’re doing,” he said.
He also confirmed he hasn’t undergone further imaging since the initial injury. Even with the setbacks, he and the team continue treating the issue as a partial ligament tear, and Anthony said he received one cortisone shot around the same time as meetings with doctors. He has not had another.
The Red Sox have never provided an official recovery timeline for Anthony, but he said six to eight weeks has been the general goal, with Monday marking the six-week point since his injury.
“They’ve continued to tell me that nothing about this process has been unusual from a time standpoint,” Anthony said. “But for me obviously it’s frustrating.”
For Anthony. the frustration is tied to the uncertainty that comes after rehab has to pause just short of full hitting work. Because he hasn’t resumed his hitting program after pausing it more than two weeks ago. it’s difficult to estimate when he might be ready to return to play. From there. he would still need a minor league rehab assignment before resuming MLB game action—steps that make the gap between “getting better” and “being back” hard to measure.
The injury has piled on top of a season that has already been difficult for the 22-year-old. Through 30 games, Anthony batted .229 with a .675 OPS and one home run.
His earlier breakout came in 71 games for Boston after promotion last June, when he flashed the talent that earned expectations. But an left oblique strain cut his season short in September, forcing him to miss the club’s wild-card series against the New York Yankees.
Despite that. the organization still moved fast on his future—signing Anthony to an eight-year. $130 million contract extension just two months after he was called up from Triple-A. He hadn’t fully settled into consistent production yet this season. but he showed flashes in some of the games leading up to his injury.
Now, the question isn’t whether Anthony is trying to get back—it’s whether the pain will finally fade quickly enough to let him resume true swings and push the next stages of rehab forward.
Roman Anthony Boston Red Sox wrist injury May 4 rehab Fenway Park Texas Rangers Detroit Tigers cortisone shot partial ligament tear