Philadelphia, PA – Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard had surgery on Wednesday to repair the torn Achilles tendon in his left leg.
Foot and ankle specialist Dr. Mark Myerson performed the surgery in Baltimore on Wednesday and also administered a Platelet Rich Plasma injection.
Howard will be completely immobilized from one to two weeks. Depending on his recovery, he will begin weight bearing and strength rehabilitation in about a month.
While no official timetable has been released on his return to play, Philadelphia general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said that it will be five to six months, meaning Howard could be ready in time for the start of the season.
Howard was injured on the final play of Philadelphia's Game 5 loss on October 7 to the St. Louis Cardinals when he appeared to tweak something leaving the batter's box on a ground ball.
He made it only halfway up the line, crumbling to the ground as he was easily thrown out at first base.
Coming off a regular season that saw the 31-year-old hit .253 with 33 home runs and 116 RBI, he had a sub-par postseason as he had just two hits in 19 at-bats and while he drove in six runs, he didn't have an RBI or hit in the final three games.
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