Kodai Senga Injury Update: Recovery timeline established for Mets ace following PRP injection

There could be a significant delay to the start of Kodai Senga's season. The Japanese ace is being shut down for the time being while he recovers from a PRP injection (platelet-rich plasma) in his shoulder. This is not an uncommon procedure for pitchers, but it does cause them to miss some time.

SNY reporter Anthony DiComo said on X, formerly known as Twitter:

"He received a PRP injection in his shoulder in New York. His shutdown period should last three weeks before he restarts a throwing program."

With Spring Training having just begun, it's a less than ideal situation for Kodai Senga. Pitchers need a while to ramp up for the regular season, and this will cut into his ability to do that, and that's only if he's even healthy by the time the opener rolls around.

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How Kodai Senga's treatment affects him

The New York Mets can all but bank on not having Kodai Senga for Opening Day. The young pitcher is going to be shut down for about three weeks, but it could be more depending on how he responds to the treatment.

That means he will not throw another pitch until mid-March at the earliest. That's about a week before the regular season begins. If he can make that timeline, he'd begin a throwing program and likely do a bit of rehab in the minors before he returned to the Mets' rotation.

DiComo confirmed this as he said that the team hasn't committed to a timeline for him, but the three-week absence plus the necessary time to pitch in the major leagues means he's unlikely to be back for a while.

The alternative is for him to ramp up while in uniform, which would mean he'd return after the season began and pitch, but only for a few innings at a time. He needs time to stretch out and ramp up, which spring training would bring him.

Kodai Senga is set to miss some time

Without that, he'd be forced to pitch an inning or two in a game and then a week later go for three innings. It would be a slow buildup, and it is not ideal. Either way, Senga is going to be out for a while, so look for Jose Quintana or Luis Severino to take his spot atop the rotation for a while.