Walker Buehler will miss more than year after elbow surgery

• Walker Buehler had surgery on Tuesday to fix a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.
• The 28-year-old will miss the rest of the 2022 season and all of 2023.
• This means he is unlikely to be ready to play again before 2024.

Walker Buehler, the best pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, will be out for more than a year after surgery on Tuesday to fix his hurt elbow.

The Dodgers confirmed that the pitcher, who is 28 years old, had Tommy John surgery and a procedure to fix a torn flexor tendon on Tuesday.

Tommy John surgery is named after the pitcher on whom it was first done in 1974. The ulnar collateral ligament is fixed during the surgery (UCL).

When a pitcher throws a baseball, the UCL is usually put through a lot of stress.

Surgery to fix a torn UCL usually takes between 12 and 18 months of recovery time. This means that Buehler is unlikely to be ready to play again before 2024.

Tuesday’s surgery is the second time that Tommy John surgery has been done on Buehler. The right-handed pitcher, who is an important part of the Dodgers’ rotation, also had UCL surgery in 2015.

Buehler hasn’t played since June, when he hurt the flexor in his right elbow.

The star pitcher had a 4.02 earned run average and 58 strikeouts in 12 starts this season.

The Dodgers were hoping that Buehler would be ready to return to the rotation in time for the playoffs, but now that he needs UCL surgery, he will miss the rest of the 2022 season and all of 2023.

The Dodgers have the best record in baseball this year. With an 84-37 record, they lead the National League West by 17.5 games.

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