Shohei Ohtani’s Lingering Knee Problem Back in Focus After Injury

Shohei Ohtani’s Lingering Knee Problem BackLos Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani left Thursday’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates with left knee inflammation.

Ohtani came out of the game in the seventh inning when he was set to bat with two baserunners on in a close game.

Santiago Espinal took his place in a surprising turn of events since Ohtani only comes out during massive blowouts, and the game was far from that at the moment.

Ohtani pitched the night before, going 6.2 innings and throwing slightly above 100 pitches, and despite talk of possibly resting the Japanese sensation, manager Dave Roberts rolled him out.

Ohtani is hitting the ball at an elite level, and given his hot streak, it makes sense why Roberts felt good about skipping the rest while on the road.

However, Ohtani suffered from knee inflammation and did not finish the game, though after the contest Roberts said the level of concern was “not high.”

Ohtani has a history of left knee issues, having undergone surgery on the knee, but Roberts was quick to deny any link between his knee history and his current ailment.

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In September of 2019, when he was with the Angels, Ohtani went through season-ending surgery to address a bipartite patella.

Bipartite patella is a condition that affects 1-2% of people and happens at birth. This occurs when the kneecap does not fuse together. In a normal person, the kneecap develops from two separate bones and becomes a single bone.

However, for Ohtani, as it does for a very small selection of the population, the bones did not fuse. The result for Ohtani? Battling inflammation and irritation at times.

As a 25-year-old at the time, Ohtani was operated on by Dr. Neal ElAttrache (who did Ohtani’s Tommy John surgery) and Dr. Brian Schulz of the Kerlan-Jobe Institute.

According to former Angels manager Billy Epler, who was the Angels’ lead executive at the time of Ohtani’s surgery, the Japanese player was asymptomatic throughout his time in high school, with the Nippon Ham Fighters in Japan, and in his rookie season with the Angels.

This is the case for most people who deal with the condition, but since Ohtani is pushing his body to the limits all the time as a two-way player, it makes sense that his would eventually activate.

According to Epler, the surgery would eliminate any concerns about the bipartite patella affecting the knee going forward.

The left leg is the landing leg for Ohtani when he pitches and the back leg on his swing. For a baseball player, most of the power comes from the legs, whether hitting or pitching, making the knee an especially important part for a power hitter/pitcher like Ohtani.

Per the Dodgers, it is left knee inflammation, and Dave Roberts confirmed as much on Friday, despite describing it as more of a hamstring injury on Thursday.

The scan on the knee came back clean, Roberts said. Additionally, on Thursday, Roberts denied that Ohtani’s knee injury was related to his bipartite patella condition.

“I think [this is] more hamstring versus knee,” Roberts said. “It’s behind the knee, but I think it’s the attachment of the knee and the hamstring.”

While the symptoms of bipartite patella and his current inflammation line up, he has seemingly avoided anything that may need surgery as of now, a massive sigh of relief.

As the season and his career progress, it will be interesting to monitor his left knee, since he plays so often and exerts so much stress on his whole body.