Ryan Howard Back From Achilles Injury

But Phillies fans will surely be happy to see Howard back in the lineup. Maybe they won’t even boo.

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It’s been a long road to recovery for Ryan Howard, but it appears he will finally make his 2012 MLB debut on Friday.

Stay up to date on Ryan Howard’s progress at Phillies blog The Good Phight and SB Nation Philly.

He’s been on a rehab assignment and in the third game of said assignment, he hit his first home run since 2011. John Finger:

The question, though, is whether the Phillies will be too far out of contention for Howard’s return to help them. They’ll have a couple of weeks before they have to go into sell mode, if that’s what they decide.

Howard was 2-for-4 with two singles in his first game back, and he drove in three runs as the DH. You can judge the quality of his singles for yourself:

He talked to CSN Philly about the game:

We’re now almost halfway through the 2012 season, and the Phillies inch closer to getting Howard back. Associated Press via SI.com:

The Phillies are six games under .500 and 9½ games out of first place, and their first basemen this season have hit .260/.319/.418, far below Howard’s usual level. If he can come back at anywhere near his previous form, the Phillies might still be able to make a run at the NL East title, or at least one of the two wild-card spots.

It was on the last play of their 2011 season that the Phillies realized they’d probably play a lot of their 2012 season without first baseman Ryan Howard. Howard suffered an Achilles injury, and etc. you already know all of those details. Howard’s recovery has been ... gradual, hitting some speed bumps, but lately he’s been participating in simulated games, and the next step is getting ever closer:

Howard’s rehab assignment would not be a quick one, as he’s got a ways to go before he’s in game shape. But beginning shortly would put Howard on track to join the Phillies just after the All-Star break, which wouldn’t be a moment too soon.

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But now we have an update from CSN Philly. Kind of.

Amaro was asked if he believed Howard could be back before the end of June.

“I don’t believe so,” he said. “I don’t think so.”

Could Howard be back by the All-Star break?

“I don’t know,” Amaro said.Howard had been taking batting practice, and the earlier reports suggested that June was a possibility. But according to CSN, Howard’s calf is weakened from the atrophy that occurred when his leg was immobilized, so they don’t want to push him only to have another body part snap. So that means June is out. It’s possible that July is in jeopardy, too.

We can report that this is still happening! Bob Brookover:

Howard, recovering from a long stretch of inactivity caused by an infection near his surgically repaired left Achilles tendon, participated in what assistant general manager Scott Proefrock called “a simulated game” Wednesday in Florida.

In essence, Howard took live batting practice against organizational pitchers who are in the extended spring training program.

“It’s a chance for him to see some pitches with some velocity rather than just having a coach throw to him,” Proefrock said.

Phillies 1B Ryan Howard took batting practice for the first time since February at the team’s spring-training facility in Clearwater, Fla. GM Ruben Amaro Jr. called it “progress.” Howard, the 2006 NL MVP, has been sidelined since having a procedure to remove an infection near his surgically repaired left Achilles tendon.The Phillies’ moribund offense can use him, and he’s still targeting late May or early June for his return.

Salisbury had a quick rundown of what’s ahead for Howard in the coming weeks.

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Looks like he’s mobile and making progress, though. From Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer:

When it comes to fish-out-of-water defensive madness, the focus of the early season is on Miguel Cabrera. Rightfully so, as the last time Cabrera stood at third base with a glove was in 2008, when he made five errors in 50 chances. There’s a strong possibility that Cabrera will swallow a baseball this year. Literally swallow a baseball. Make a cartoonish *gunnk* sound, look around sheepishly, and attempt to tag the runner out with his stomach. And then infield warmups will end.

Thome showing any sort of ability to stick at first base in limited duty is important. The alternative isn’t that palatable, even if only for two or three months:

Which obviously put a hard stop to his spring-training rehabilitation. Philly.com’s Matt Gelb:

Howard was supposed to return to the Phillies’ lineup in May, but now his timetable’s quite uncertain. He might still come back in May, but that means the infection’s gone and he’s rehabbing again within the next week or two ... and there aren’t any more setbacks. If we have to guess, we might now guess that Howard won’t take over at first base again until sometime in June. Give or take.

When last we heard of the Achilles injury that Ryan Howard suffered making the final out of the Phillies’ NLDS series loss to the Cardinals, the team was optimistic that Howard might be able to play as soon as April.

Those hopes might now be dashed. Danny Knobler:

According to Phillies GM Ruben Amaro, the Philly slugger will be out of action for “five to six months” while he recovers. He hopes his first baseman can still make his first scheduled at-bat of the 2012 regular season in April.

It’s a much better result than what was initially-feared following the injury.

As you’ve no doubt also heard, the pre-MRI speculation was that Howard suffered a serious Achilles injury.

According to Philadelphia radio’s Howard Eskin, the speculation was correct:

“I was trying to run and I felt this pop and the whole thing went numb, like it was on fire,” he said, according to Philly.com. “It literally felt like I had a flat tire. I tried to get up and I just couldn’t go.”

Howard, who hit just 2-for-19 for the series, likely wouldn’t have made it to first base even if he hadn’t fallen down on his way to first base.

Howard later told reporters he thinks he tore his Achilles, which would be the worst possible outcome for both him and the team. If it is, in fact, torn, Howard could miss the entire 2012 season while recovering and rehabbing from the injury. But again, the diagnosis has to be confirmed on Saturday.

Until then, the Phillies wait, and hold their collective breath while hoping for the best. We’ll be back with more on Howard’s injury as it becomes available in this StoryStream.

Howard never made it to first, crumpling into a heap as he ran down the first base line on the play. It appeared his leg or ankle gave out, and the Phillies’ slugger was in serious pain as trainers attended to him after the game’s conclusion. He was helped from the field and moved gingerly to the locker room with the trainers’ assistance a short time later.

It’s unclear what injury caused Howard to go down, but it appears his lower leg or Achilles tendon was affected. We’ll be back with more on Howard’s injury as it becomes available.