Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw Optimistic About His Recovery Time

Clayton Kershaw is doing his best to keep his arm going while he fights an injury to the big toe on his left foot.

With October quickly approaching, the Los Angeles Dodgers need him to be feeling great physically and mentally for him to be on the roster.

“It’s beyond frustrating,” Kershaw told Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times. “Because, I really do, my body feels great. Shoulder, back, everything feels really good. It’s just that last little bit.”

Unlike in many recent seasons, Clayton Kershaw is feeling good physically. His frequently injured back is holding up well, and his shoulder has recovered from offseason surgery. Remarkably, for a 36-year-old pitcher with more than 2,700 career innings, he feels his arm is in excellent shape.

Only a bone spur on Kershaw’s left big toe is preventing him from being 100 percent. Only three weeks remain in the regular season but the future Hall of Famer is confident about his recovery time.

“I think I’ll be able to,” Kershaw told reporters Monday when asked about his confidence level in pitching again before the end of the regular season. “I don’t want to put a percentage on it, but I do feel like — I mean, it’s been eight days [since the injury]. There’s been a lot of progress in the last eight days. So, I feel like I’ve got a finite window that I need to at least be throwing bullpens. If it continues, I think I’ll be good. But I can’t really have any delays.”

Kershaw has been experimenting since his last appearance on Aug. 30.

He’s been throwing flat-ground sessions while wearing both tennis shoes and a walking boot, experimenting with various “foot angles” in his delivery. On Monday, he took it a step further by pitching from a portable ramp in the outfield, with only a sock on his left foot.

“I’m just trying everything to try and take the pressure off of it, to keep my arm going as best I can so when I do feel 100% I won’t need that much rehab time,” Kershaw said. “Throwing off the mound, that turf mound, felt a little better today. So I feel like I’m doing enough to keep my arm going. It’s not there yet to be able to push off for a full game. But it’s getting better.”

The Dodgers are taking Kershaw’s injury one day a time but everyone remains optimistic that he can return soon without any discomfort.

Photo Credit: Owen Ziliak/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

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