Ahn Woo-jin's return to the league? The director answered directly "Rehabilitation is going well → It's only when you pitch live."

*This content was translated by AI.

The Kiwoom Heroes did not look bad in the exhibition game ahead of the opening of the 2026 regular season, further raising expectations for their exit from the bottom. In particular, much attention is being paid to the timing of Ahn Woo-jin (27), who will join during the season while the starting mound has been stable. Seol Jong-jin (53), head coach of the Kiwoom Heroes, said his rehabilitation is smooth and has not yet revealed the specific timing. It seems that there is also consideration that it may be a burden to the player.

Kiwoom beat the LG Twins 5-2 in the final exhibition game at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on the 24th. LG won two consecutive away games, completing the schedule of 12 exhibition games with five wins, six losses and one draw.

Above all, the stability of the starting mound is quite encouraging news. This is because foreign pitcher Nathan Wiles, who started on the 24th, became the winning pitcher with four hits, one strikeout and no run in five innings. Kiwoom's starting ERA in 12 exhibition games is 3.51. It ranks first among the 10 clubs. Starting with Raul Alcantara, Ha Young-min and Wiles are confirmed to enter the starting rotation, while Bae Dong-hyun and Kim Yoon-ha also showed outstanding strides. Although the number of samples may be somewhat small, it cannot be overlooked that the selection team showed a more stable appearance than other teams.

If only national starting pitcher Ahn Woo-jin joins, Kiwoom can look at autumn baseball. Ahn Woo-jin continues to participate in team training, which is playing in exhibition games, and is improving his condition. When asked about the timing of Ahn Woo-jin's return, coach Seol officially said, "The rehabilitation is going well. "We are proceeding according to the plan, but it is difficult to tell you exactly how long it will be because we are also doing hospital treatment to check our physical condition," he declined to say.

Later, in a meeting with Star News, coach Seol added that he had to start pitching live in order to eventually come out with an accurate return schedule. There is also a possibility of an early return due to the continued half-pitching. However, coach Seol shook his head and said, "As with the training schedule in Incheon last weekend, Ahn Woo-jin also pitched 80% to 90% in Jamsil this time. Ahn Woo-jin's physical condition is currently exclusively in charge of training," he explained.

"In fact, in order to come out at the time of his return, he has to go into pitching with a batter standing up. In fact, during the half-pitching process, some minor pain may occur, and recovery may be slow. Even such a process should be taken into account to some extent. If live pitching is carried out, I think we can now estimate the timing of our return," he said.

He also said he has no plans to register Ahn Woo-jin in the first-team entry in advance like last season. Coach Seol Jong-jin said, "There will be no entry registration until we say we are in a body that can take the mound in real time. So far, I have no intention of doing so," he stressed.

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*This content was translated by AI.