Robert cleared for rehab
Sox outfielder reports to Winston-Salem to work his way back from hip injury
Chicago White Sox center fielder Luis Robert has been cleared to begin a rehab assignment Wednesday with Class A Winston-Salem, the team announced Monday.
It’s another potential boost for the Sox outfield, with left fielder Eloy Jiménez currently on a rehab assignment at Triple-A Charlotte.
“I’m very happy with the process and the results that I’ve been getting,” Robert said through an interpreter during a conference call Monday. “I wasn’t expecting to have this process as fast as it’s gone. That’s the good news. I’m just excited to start the rehab process on Wednesday.”
Robert is recovering from a complete tear of his right hip flexor that he suffered May 2 against the Cleveland Indians when he raced to first for an infield hit. He fell after crossing the bag and had to be helped off the field.
“I never experienced an injury as severe as that one,” Robert said. “My first thought: ‘Oh, this is really bad. I don’t know if I’m going to come back this season.’ It was pain. But luckily it wasn’t as bad as I thought at first, and then when I got the news I will be able to come back this season, I felt much better.
“First, I spent a month without walking. Then I started walking little steps. Then when I started running, I was afraid because I couldn’t run 100% and I was afraid of, man, I am going to lose one of my best tools. I was concerned in that moment about it. But then my body started reacting in a good way and I started feeling much better.”
Robert was medically cleared June 29 to increase his level of baseball activities.
“I’ve felt pretty good for the last two weeks,” he said. “At first I was a little concerned or afraid because I wasn’t sure if I was going to be at full speed. But then I started feeling more comfortable, more secure about the leg, and right now I feel pretty good.”
He was slashing .316/.359/.463 with nine doubles, one triple, one home run and eight RBIs in 25 games when he was injured.The Sox have been without two of their starting outfielders fora the bulk of the season.
Jiménez, who suffered a ruptured left pectoral tendon in spring training, is slashing .296/.345/.556 with two home runs and three RBIs in seven games between Winston-Salem and Charlotte.
“We are very happy and excited,” Robert said. “We know we are going to be back soon. We talk every day. We talk about the things we want to do once we come back and how important it’s going to be for the team. It’s going to be fun.
We are excited to come back and play here and help the team.
“We’ve been talking about our goal as a team and our goalas a team is just win the World Series, reach that ring. That’s our goal.
I think that’s the motivation for all of us. We keep talking about it because that’s the real motivation for us: get to the postseason and win it all with the World Series and be champions.”