Injury Updates on Jon Niese & Ruben Tejada

Here are injury updates on Jonathon Niese and Ruben Tejada…

Jonathon Niese is confident he’ll avoid rotator cuff surgery:

Left handed pitcher Jonathon Niese, who was diagnosed with a partially torn rotator cuff last week, told manager Terry Collins that he doesn’t think he’ll require surgery.  Collins relayed that information while appearing on WFAN earlier today.

May 21, 2013; New York, NY, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Jonathon Niese (49) pitches against the Cincinnati Reds during the third inning of a game at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

I noted on Twitter that Collins shouldn’t be speculating one way or the other regarding Niese’s prognosis, and I still feel that way.  No matter how confident Niese is that he’ll avoid surgery (which could potentially imperil his career), there’s simply no way to know at this point whether or not Niese will have to go under the knife.

Niese had an MRI last week that revealed the minor tear, and will be given another MRI after his few weeks of prescribed rest are up.  At that time, there should be a clearer picture as to whether or not Niese will need surgery.  If surgery is avoided, Niese will instead strengthen the area around the shoulder where the tear is, rehab, and look to return to game action.

Ruben Tejada close to beginning a rehab assignment:

Shortstop Ruben Tejada, who was placed on the disabled list a little under a month ago with a strained right quad, is close to beginning a rehab assignment.  If Tejada hadn’t been injured, he would’ve likely been demoted to AAA along with Ike Davis, Mike Baxter, and Robert Carson when the mass roster change went down.

Terry Collins noted that Tejada may begin the rehab assignment later this week, starting in the GCL before progressing to AAA Las Vegas.

Collins said that when Tejada is activated from the disabled list, he would likely return to the majors – not stay with AAA.  At that point, Collins will have to decide how to divide playing time between Tejada and Omar Quintanilla.

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