Mike Trout is currently sidelined with a back injury. The Los Angeles Angels superstar's timetable for a return was expected to be a few weeks after receiving a cortisone shot in his back. However, that timetable may be much longer and follow the legend for the remainder of his playing days.
According to Sam Blum of The Athletic, Angels head athletic trainer Mike Frostad said that Trout is dealing with a rare back condition that he may have to deal with for the remainder of his career. Los Angeles has one of the best spine doctors looking into Trout's case but the condition (costovertebral dysfunction in his T5 vertebra) is a very difficult one for an athlete to deal with.
“The doctor (Robert Watkins), who is one of the most well-known spine surgeons in the country, if not the world, doesn’t see a lot of these,” Frostad told The Athletic. “And for it to happen in a baseball player, we just have to take into consideration what he puts himself through with hitting, swinging on a daily basis, just getting prepared…[There are] so many things that can aggravate it. But this doctor hasn’t seen a lot of it.”
This is extremely worrisome news for Mike Trout, who is still at the top of his game at 30 years old. He was enjoying another MVP-caliber season — posting a .967 OPS with 76 hits and 24 home runs and 17 doubles in 79 games — before hitting the IL. The Angels are 41-56 currently and should continue to slide down the standings without Trout.
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