DENVER (AP) — Rookie right-hander Juan Nicasio, wearing an immobilizing cervical brace and a ready smile, returned to the Colorado Rockies clubhouse on Monday, his first visit since he was struck in the head by a line drive and had a bone in his neck broken.
Nicasio, 24, fractured the C-1 vertebra on Aug. 5 when a drive off the bat of Washington’s Ian Desmond struck him on the right side of his head. Within hours he underwent surgery where doctors inserted two pins into the cracked vertebra to help it heal in one piece and a small metal plate was attached to the back of his neck to provide additional stability.
Doctors have expressed optimism that he can make a full recovery, though he is out for the rest of this season.
