In professional baseball, injury dominoes continue to hit the NC Dinos. Infielder Seo Ho-cheol is also out.
NC announced on the 26th, ahead of the game against the Hanwha Eagles at Daejeon Hanwha Life Insurance Ballpark, that "player Seo Ho-cheol received a hospital examination yesterday (25th) and was diagnosed with a right hamstring grade 1 (Grade 1) and is expected to undergo rehabilitation for up to 2 to 3 weeks."
Seo Ho-cheol started the previous day's game as the sixth batter and third baseman. With no outs and runners on first and second, he laid down a sacrifice bunt and felt pain in his right hamstring during the baserunning play, and was replaced by Shin Jae-in. In the end, Seo Ho-cheol could not avoid injury.
Seo Ho-cheol had appeared in 23 games this season with a .213 batting average (61 at-bats, 13 hits), 1 home run, 7 RBIs and an OPS of .568. He was a utility player who could play third base, second base and first base, giving the team significant influence, but his departure due to injury has thinned the roster.
Three players that manager Lee Ho-jun considered starters have been sidelined one after another due to injuries. In the opening series against the Doosan Bears, Kwon Hee-dong suffered a left internal oblique muscle rupture and received a six-week opinion. On the 16th against KT in Changwon, Kim Hwi-jip was hit on the right wrist by KT starter Matt Sauer's 147 km fastball and was diagnosed with a wrist fracture. He is undergoing rehabilitation without surgery and was also given a six-week opinion.
It is painful for manager Lee Ho-jun that Seo Ho-cheol has also left the lineup due to injury. Ahead of the Hanwha game in Daejeon on the 26th, Lee Ho-jun said, "Now (Kwon) Hee-dong, (Kim) Hwi-jip, and (Seo) Ho-cheol — three starting members are out, so it's tough," expressing his frustration.
That day NC removed infielder Seo Ho-cheol, Han Jae-hwan and pitcher Son Ju-hwan from the roster. Instead, outfielder Park Si-won, infielder Kim Han-byeol and pitcher Ha Joon-young were called up. They set the starting lineup as Kim Joo-won (shortstop), Park Min-woo (second base), Park Gun-woo (right field), Davidson (first base), Lee Woo-seong (designated hitter), Do Tae-hoon (third base), Kim Hyung-joon (catcher), Go Jun-hwi (left field) and Choi Jung-won (center field).
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