HOUSTON — Jose Altuve resumed some baseball activities this week, but there still isn't a timetable for when Houston's star second baseman will return to the team.
Altuve fractured his right thumb in the World Baseball Classic and had surgery to repair the injury March 22. After his surgery, Astros general manager Dana Brown said he'd be out at least eight weeks.
It's been six weeks so far, and while Altuve was cleared to return to baseball activities this week — including throwing, running and fielding — he hasn't been cleared to swing. «I think right now it's hard to tell,» Altuve said when asked if he knows when he'll return. «Anything is possible.
I'm working really hard. I want to come back and help these guys to win, but we'll see. »I think the next two weeks are really important in my rehab." This is the longest the eight-time All-Star and the 2017 American League MVP has ever been sidelined. «Obviously, it's really hard,» he said. «It's something I didn't plan on, but things happen, and you can't really do anything about it.