This can't be! Kiwoom's ace feels elbow pain: "Inflammation detected → No appearance in the first half"

*This content was translated by AI.

Bad news has hit Kiwoom Heroes. The team's foreign ace, Raul Alcantara (34), will be sidelined due to elbow pain. It is now virtually impossible for him to appear in any games during the first half of the season.

On the 2nd, Kiwoom announced that it had removed Alcantara from its first-division roster ahead of the LG Twins game at Gocheok Sky Dome in Guro-gu, Seoul. Alcantara started against LG on the 1st, throwing 92 pitches but reported elbow pain after the game. He allowed seven hits (including two home runs), struck out seven batters, and gave up four runs over five innings before leaving the mound. He finished the first half with a record of seven wins and six losses and an ERA of 3.32.

According to Kiwoom, Alcantara underwent detailed medical examinations at a hospital on the 2nd, which revealed inflammation in his elbow. Head coach Seol Jong-jin (53) explained after meeting with reporters ahead of the game: "We determined that it would be too risky for him to appear after five days of rest as the next scheduled starter, so we excluded him from the roster today for treatment and rest." Outfielder Im Ji-yeol has been registered to fill Alcantara's spot.

Fortunately, it appears he avoided a serious injury. Alcantara is expected to take strict rest for the next 10 days, then gradually build up his condition over about five days before returning at the start of the second half. Coach Seol also added: "We plan to prepare so that there will be no issues in the second half."

While expressing regret over the loss of their ace, Kiwoom head coach Seol Jong-jin expressed confidence in the remaining pitching staff. Coach Seol stated: "If we can manage through this week, next week An Woo-jin will normally start on Tuesday, Bae Dong-hyun who pitched today will start on Wednesday (the 8th), and Ha Young-min is scheduled to start on the 9th as usual. In short, there should be no gaps in the starting rotation during the first half. For Alcantara's next turn against Doosan in five days, Kim Yun-ha is expected to take the mound."

Meanwhile, Kiwoom set its starting lineup for the the 2nd game against LG, which will determine the outcome of the winning series: Seo Geon-chang (designated hitter), An Chi-hong (first baseman), Hiura (left fielder), Choi Ju-hwan (second baseman), Park Chan-hyuk (right fielder), Im Byung-wook (center fielder), Yeo Dong-wook (third baseman), Kim Dong-heon (second baseman), and Kwon Hyuk-bin (shortstop). Kim Geon-hee, who was hit by a pitch during the previous day's game on the 1st, was removed from the lineup for protective reasons. Except for unavoidable situations requiring defensive play, the team aims to provide rest whenever possible.

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*This content was translated by AI.