Astros star Carlos Correa faces season-ending surgery on a torn tendon in his ankle

HOUSTON (AP) — Houston’s Carlos Correa has a torn tendon in his left ankle that will require season-ending surgery, the star infielder said Wednesday.

Correa was injured Tuesday while taking swings in the batting cage before a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

“I was hitting in the cage, normal day, feeling great,” he said. “I went through my whole routine, took a swing and just felt a pop. It just completely snapped on me and then I fell to the ground and couldn’t put weight on it.”

Correa was on crutches and in a walking boot Wednesday morning at the ballpark after seeing a foot specialist. He said he would seek some other opinions before scheduling the surgery.

Correa, 31, said the injury was a complete tear and his recovery is expected to take six to eight months.

“Tough, really tough,” he said. “Not what I was expecting, but now it’s time to deal with it, face it head on and and focus on the rehab.”

Correa has had ankle problems in the past. In 2023, he had huge free agent deals with the San Francisco Giants and New York Mets fall through over concerns with his right ankle that was operated on in 2014. He ended up remaining with the Minnesota Twins after the deals collapsed.

Correa has salaries of $31.5 million this season, $30.5 million in 2027 and $30 million in 2028. As part of the last July’s trade, the Twins will pay the Astros $10 million each Dec. 15 from this year through 2028.

His latest injury is yet another blow to an Astros team that has dealt with scores of injuries this season, including an oblique injury to Yainer Diaz that landed the catcher on the injured list Tuesday.

Correa, who is back with the Astros after last summer’s blockbuster trade from the Twins, played third base for Houston last season with Jeremy Peña at shortstop. But Correa has been playing shortstop recently with Peña out with a hamstring injury.

Manager Joe Espada said this week that Peña is close to a return and could begin a rehabilitation assignment soon.

But it’s still a huge blow to lose Correa, who is one of the leaders of the team.

“It’s a gut punch,” general manager Dana Brown said. “But it’s not the end of the world. We still have a very competitive team. Thank God we have the depth still in the infield particularly when Jeremy comes back. And so, the team is still built to win, no doubt about it.”

Espada said the Astros will miss all that Correa brings to the team.

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“It’s just really hard,” Espada said. “Talking to Carlos this morning it was really, really hard. What he means to this team, to this organization, personally to me as his manager, as a friend. I’ve known him for a very long time. It sucks, but we have to move on.”

The Astros had Isaac Paredes playing third base and Braden Shewmake at shortstop for the finale of a series against the Dodgers on Wednesday.

Correa is batting .279 with three home runs and 16 RBIs. The No. 1 pick in the 2012 amateur draft, Correa spent his first seven seasons with the Astros before signing with the Twins where he spent 3 1/2 seasons before last summer’s trade.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb