The Kiwoom Heroes professional baseball team faced another injury setback.
Kiwoom beat the NC Dinos 2-1 on the 21st at Seoul Gocheok Sky Dome in the 2026 Shinhan Bank SOL Bank KBO League to record their first back-to-back wins of the season.
Despite the important victory, Kiwoom could not be all smiles. With many injured players already, two more players were replaced due to injury in this game alone.
Injuries occurred one after another from the start of the game. First, in the bottom of the second with one out, Park Chan-hyeok hit a deep ball toward third base and sprinted to first base to earn an infield single against the third baseman. But he twisted his left ankle while stepping on first base, fell, and was immediately replaced by pinch runner Lee Hyung-jong.
In the top of the third with one out, Lee Ju-hyeong hit a double over the right fielder's head. But right fielder Park Gun-woo quickly connected the play with a throw, and Lee Ju-hyeong suffered a right hamstring injury while sprinting into second base. After moving his body briefly to check his condition, Lee Ju-hyeong stayed on the basepaths and continued playing until An Chi-hong's at-bat, but when the pain persisted he was replaced by pinch runner Im Ji-yeol for Trenton Brooks' at-bat.
Kiwoom said, "Park Chan-hyeok was replaced after twisting his left ankle. Lee Ju-hyeong experienced pain in his right hamstring and was replaced to protect the player. Park Chan-hyeok is scheduled for a hospital examination tomorrow, and Lee Ju-hyeong's need for examination will be decided after assessing his condition."
Kiwoom, which finished last in the league for three consecutive years, devoted intense effort to prepare for the season, increasing training volume from spring camp to escape the bottom this season. But the team has continued to suffer from injury setbacks that began even before the season started. During the preseason, Seo Geon-chang, Jo Young-geon, Kim Yun-ha, and Park Joo-seong were injured and left the roster, and after the season opened, key players including Jeong Hyun-woo, Park Yoon-seong, Kim Tae-jin, Eo Jun-seo, Park Han-gyeol, and Nathan Wiles continued to be sidelined with injuries.
Kiwoom announced that they signed Kenny Rosenberg as Wiles' injury replacement foreign player for $50,000 (about 73.52 million won). Coincidentally, on the day the injury replacement signing was announced, both Park Chan-hyeok and Lee Ju-hyeong suffered injuries, raising the possibility of further departures from the roster.
Kiwoom, sitting last in the league with a 6-14 record and a .300 winning percentage this season, managed to turn the momentum with two straight wins. Attention will focus on whether they can overcome the early-season injury setbacks and rebound for the remainder of the season.
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