Chien-Ming Wang Injury Analysis

The New York Times is speculating that Wang possibly has a LisFranc Injury:

The Yankees called the injury a sprained right foot, and they will hope for the best until Wang has a magnetic resonance imaging test in New York on Monday. But the early signs are grim.

The injury is to the top of Wang’s foot, the same general area that reliever Brian Bruney injured when he tripped while covering first base in April. Bruney was found to have a Lisfranc injury and is expected to miss a minimum of three months.

Wang has symptoms of the same injury, including swelling and the inability to bear weight on the foot; he left Minute Maid Park on crutches, in a soft cast. Bruney’s injury was in the middle of the foot, and Wang’s is believed to be in the webbing of his toes, between his big toe and second toe.

I can tell you that this is not good if this is true. He needs that mid-foot to be perfectly stable in order to drive off of it as it is his push-off leg. From the several that I have seen in person, a mild case that didn't require crutches was not back for 8 weeks. Surgical intervention requires a much much longer period. Many orthopedic surgeons follow this general protocol (I have paraphrased, full source is here).

After surgical fixation , most orthopedists suggest that the foot be immobilized in a cast for eight to 12 weeks with minimal (toe-touch) weight-bearing. Noncasted, full weight-bearing usually is not allowed until the screw or similar fixation device is removed at eight to 12 weeks. For three months after cast removal, the patient should wear a protective shoe with a well-molded orthotic.

So if surgical fixation is needed, means 3 months before he is out of the cast, putting him at late August, early September before he is out of the cast. That doesn't include the rehab on his legs that he will have to do. While I'm absolutely positive that they will keep him arm in decent shape, until his foot is fully healed, he will not be cleared to do any throwing.

Fantasy summary: The minute that you hear that he needs surgery you can drop him. He'll be useless to your team, unless you are in a keeper league and had him at an unbelievable price for next year. If he doesn't need surgery, he'll likely be out at least 6-8 weeks.

UPDATE: It's now reported that Wang has suffered a Lis Franc injury and a partial tear of the Peroneal Longus Tendon. While this isn't the absolute worst case scenario, it complicates things a lot. The Peroneal longus wraps around the outside of the foot and travels underneath the foot through the arch of your foot. Point your Right foot down and to the right and you're using the tendon. It has secondary actions of stabilizing that transverse arch (mid-foot).

So Wang has suffered an injury to at least 2 out of the 3 stabilizers of that area. While it's being suggested 10-12 weeks, I think they'll have to be conservative with this as it is such an important joint.