We're a little late with this news today, but just in case you haven't heard or read it yet, Brandon Inge will be getting the knee surgery he's needed for a long time, probably since June. Inge has been suffering from patella tendinitis in both knees. Or to put it more painfully, both of his patella tendons had microtears in them.
And because Inge is the kind of guy who does everything full-tilt, he's not having surgery on just one knee. Both knees are going under the knife.
As reported by Jason Beck, Inge will undergo the procedures next Tuesday, November 3 at the Detroit Medical Center. The surgery will be performed by the Tigers' team physician, Dr. Stephen Lemos. Having the knees repaired now should give Inge approximately three months to recover and rehabilitate in time for Spring Training.
Avoiding surgery was a possibility (and I presume it's often the preference). But head trainer Kevin Rand told Beck that non-surgical methods, such as injecting protein-enriched plasma into the knees to try and promote healing, wasn't a sure thing. And if it hadn't resulted in any improvement after six weeks, Inge would need surgery anyway.
When exactly Inge began experiencing knee troubles isn't clear, but the left knee definitely became a problem in mid-June, when he felt it "pop" during a series versus the Cubs. (He mentioned this in a Detroit News article, but it's no longer available online.)
Inge attempted to play through the pain, believing that going on the disabled list to rest wouldn't improve his knees any more than if he continued to play on them. Plus, the Tigers were in a playoff race. Trainers and doctors also tried treatments such as prolotherapy, in which glucose was injected into the knees as an irritant to try and accelerate healing. But while those method may have prevented the knees from getting worse, they didn't help them get better.
But after hurting that knee, Inge's numbers steadily plummeted, going from a .278/.371/.535 batting line to .230/.314/.406 by the end of the season. He had 21 home runs and 58 RBIs by the All-Star break. Afterwards, he managed six homers and 26 RBIs.