On May 18, Ross fouled a ball off his left foot. At first, the adrenaline of the moment kept him in the game against the Phillies. But a few days later, the Red Sox outfielder had an MRI and learned he had a nondisplaced fracture of the navicular bone in his foot.
Ross was placed on the 15-day disabled on May 22, retroactive to May 19. He returned from the DL on June 19 and has ignited the Sox' offense since, hammering three home runs and 10 RBIs.
But those results didn't just come on their own — they were part of Ross' cautious approach in his rehabilitation from his foot injury.
"I've been on the DL enough times that I know sometimes you go for too long and you can find yourself in a funk," Ross said. "But I felt like I was seeing the ball well enough that I could tell them I was ready to go. My foot, obviously, [feels] fine, and it's nice to start off on the right foot — no pun intended."
From the beginning, Ross was meticulous with his rehabilitation. He wore a cast on his left foot, and shortly after being hurt, he was up and limping hard around the visiting clubhouse in Philadelphia.
During his first few weeks on the shelf, the 31-year-old started riding the elliptical machine to keep his foot active. After maintaining that regimen, Ross made the transition from machine work to walking.
Then, on June 1, he was finally able to shed the walking boot. Once Ross proved his ability to run — and went for a brief rehab assignment in Pawtucket — the Red Sox activated him to bolster the outfield.
"It's definitely nice to be back out there, get back out there with the guys," Ross said. "Just feel like part of a team, you know. When you're on the DL, you almost feel like you're not part of the team, you're not a good teammate almost. You can only do so much. But definitely nice to get out there and get back into the grind."
Ross has been grinding out at-bats for the Red Sox all year long, hitting 11 homers and 38 RBIs. That should continue now that the foot injury is behind him.
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) is offering 100 healthy tips to celebrate Fenway Park’s centennial. Visit 100pitches.org to learn more.
