Camargo to revise pregame ritual that caused bone bruise in knee

Braves infielder Johan Camargo suffered one of the season’s stranger injuries when he was hurt taking the fifield before an Aug. 8 game against the Phillies.

That episode will change his pregame ritual.

Camargo was doing his signature cadence in which he scoops dirt fromthe fifirst baseline as he takes the fi field. He fell awkwardly and has been out of action since then with a bone bruise in his rightknee. Whenhe returns, expect to see a more cautious entrance.

“I don’t think I’ll do it the same way,” Camargo said of his routine through a translator Sunday. “The image is still kind of stuck inmy head from when it happened. So, no, when I go out there, I’ll probably do the same thing, but do it a lot slower. Just put my hand on the dirt, not do jogging or sprinting out there. A lot slower just to be careful.”

Camargo’s rehab has been going well, thought the initial prognosis of two weeks has passed.

“Just taking it day by day, step by step,” he said. “Getting better slowly ands urely. But, yeah, just keep improving. Got to keep going in and do the work day-by-day. And God willing, hopefully, I’ll be on the diamond soon.

“It’s the fifirst time I’ve ever had any kind of injury like that. So it’s defifinitely been a process and it hasn’t been easy.”

Shortstop Dansby Swanson and second baseman Ozzie Albies have performed well in Camargo’s absence. Swanson was recalled from Triple-A shortly after Camargo fell. Since then, the two entered the Rockies’ fifinale hitting .313 with 19 runs, eight doubles, six triples, 14 RBIs and 14 walks.

“I’m looking forward to being able to play with them,” Camargo said. “I think it’ll just be enjoyable in the sense that we got to play together in the minor leagues so it’ll benice to doit here on the big-league fifield.”

Current and former teammates have checked in with Camargo and their support has been instrumental in fending offff negativity.

“I’ve gotten lots of encouraging texts from my teammates, big league players, old teammates, stuff like that too,” he said. “It’s been great. A lot of people just wish me well and tell me to stick with it. People try to tell me not to get frustrated because I think they can relate to how frustrating an injury canbe, the process, the time that it takes to recover from it. They tell me to be patient.”