The Atlanta Braves said Thursday that the 38-year-old third baseman tore his anterior cruciate ligament and will needfulness surgery. The estimated restoration span is six months, out of the blue enough to be consenting for the next send-off era - if Jones decides to put in an appearance again in 2011. He had already said he would make allowance for retirement after a season that’s now ended sooner than expected. "I’m indubitable as the next join of days go by, those are things we’ll thrash out and he’ll argue with his family," his agent, BB Abbott, told The Associated Press.
"It’s not something he’ll conclusion immediately. He’s present to have occasion for to be told everything about the offence and rehabilitative process. He’ll as likely as not make his decision from there.
I can secure you it’s not something that’s succeeding to be a knee-jerk decision." Jones was mangle in Tuesday night’s victim at Houston. He fielded a perfunctory grounder by Hunter Pence, jumped in the manner while making the throw to first, then collapsed to the found for several minutes. After an MRI exam, Jones met Thursday with the crew doctor, Marvin Royster, who delivered the dogged diagnosis - and a bigger setback for the NL East leaders.
"Obviously, he’s very, very disappointed. I would almost characterize it as numb," Abbott said. "He knows this will be a big bolt from the blue to the team. Obviously, he has been current very well recently and felt get off on he was truly contributing to the team’s success. This is intrinsic inferior for him.
" Jones feared something was earnestly mistreat after he walked off the competitors gingerly under his own power. "It’s hurt," he said in Houston. "I heard a noticeable pop." The Braves were in fact assured when the knee didn’t gay blade as much as one would anticipate after an ACL injury, especially when Jones was able to guide some routine flexibility drills.
But the MRI showed a discriminatory tear, profit some stretching of the ligament, making it preposterous for him to come back without surgery. "We were cautiously optimistic," mixed manager Frank Wren said. "When we got the report this morning, I was really appealing shocked.
" Jones had bounced back from a dead-and-alive start and was hitting .265 with 10 homers and 46 RBIs for a duo that had a 2½-game manage in the NL East on two-time defending in league hero Philadelphia. The Braves will have to communicate on with Omar Infante and Brooks Conrad sharing third base, though neither has Jones’ power. Coming off a barren 2009 season, Jones got off to a lousy edge this year and said in June that he was in retirement. A few days later, he backed off and said he would gap until after the condition to cook a decision.
He had been playing much better since then, raising his ordinary some 30 points and showing more power. "There’s no denying the deportment he had in the mid of our lineup," Wren said. "When you expect of the Atlanta Braves, the fundamental gazebo you think of is Chipper Jones.
His confidence in our lineup has been increasing based on his fulfilment the last couple of months. He was a force. So, yeah, we’re losing a lot.
" Wren will look out on into making a profession to support the lineup, but his options are restricted since the deadline for non-waiver moves has passed. Besides, he’s not unshakeable the Braves could awaken a gamester more effective than Infante, who made the All-Star rig as a utility actress and is hitting a team-leading.330. Another All-Star, supporter baseman Martin Prado, is expected to embezzle batting convention Friday and could return from the ruined list soon after breaking a knuckle.
Another privilege isn’t likely: Wren dismissed the outlook of calling up slugging word go baseman Freddy Freeman from Triple-A and thrilling Troy Glaus back to third base, his archetype position. He said Glaus just doesn’t have the number he did earlier in his career. "This fact doesn’t modulation our head base situation at all," Wren said. As for Jones, he has to believe whether he wants to provide for playing after the number two major knee injury of his career.
He missed all of 1994, expected to be his rookie season, with the same harm to the same knee. Jones returned to become one of the greatest players in Atlanta history, a six-time All-Star who won the NL MVP give in 1999 and the NL batting rubric in 2008. Recovering from a pre-eminent wound tardy in his business would be much tougher, it is possible that the biggest influence of all when Jones considers whether he should retire. He would also have to bring into play out a settling with the Braves, who owe him about $28 million in guaranteed mazuma for the next two seasons. Jones certainly won’t be around to assistance the Braves struggle to hold off Philadelphia in the finishing year for longtime manager Bobby Cox, who has already announced he’ll hibernate at the end of the season.
Jones, as much as anyone, wanted to project out Cox with his the team’s commencement playoff aspect since 2005.
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