BOSTON — Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran never suffered a serious injury before he sprained his toe trying to scale the wall at Yankee Stadium on Aug. 20. After undergoing season-ending surgery nine days later, Duran expressed some worry that he’d never get back to 100%.
A conversation with one of Boston’s trainers helped ease Duran’s mind. The trainer referred to renowned orthopedist Dr. Robert Anderson, who performed Duran’s surgery in Charlotte on Aug. 30, as “Foot Jesus.” Duran also found out that Dr. Anderson was also the one who operated on the injured toe of Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes in Feb. 2021.
“He came back and won a Super Bowl,” Duran quipped.
For Duran, who broke out with a .295 average, 34 doubles and an .828 OPS in 102 games before getting hurt, the injury is a frustrating one. The silver lining is that doctors expect no lingering effects from what the team is calling a bad case of “turf toe” and that Duran should be ready for spring training.
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“They all tell me I have nothing to worry about but I’ve never been hurt before,” Duran said. “Obviously, there’s my self doubt, like, I hope I come back. They keep brushing it off like it’s nothing like, ‘Hey dude, you’ll be fine.’ I’m like, ‘Are you sure?’
“I’ll be ready a month before spring training,” he said. “I’ll be fine.”
Duran hurt himself scaling the left-field wall at Yankee Stadium while trying to rob a Gleyber Torres homer in the sixth inning of a dramatic Red Sox win. At first, he didn’t think it was serious, but began to worry a little more once he had trouble turning his left foot in his next at-bat. Bench coach Ramón Vázquez noticed Duran’s discomfort and told him he needed to get checked out.
Tests revealed the sprain and Duran was placed on the injured list two days later. Follow-up appointments revealed that the injury was bad enough to cost Duran the final six weeks of the season with the Red Sox chasing after a wild card spot. Duran is currently is on crutches with the first two toes on his left foot wrapped together. He expects to be put in a walking boot in the coming days.
For a workout fanatic like Duran, adjusting to life on one leg has been difficult.
“I’m working out my right leg so hopefully, my left leg will catch up,” he said. “I’ve been able to do upper body, staying in shape and making sure I don’t wither away. Making sure I get all the calories I can and stuff my face as much as I can.
“I have people walking past me and I try to catch back up to them on my crutches because I don’t like that feeling. It’s hard going from moving 100 to moving really slow. That’s part of the struggle.”
Duran has not spent much time around the Red Sox since undergoing surgery because he rested at home in the days after the procedure and didn’t travel with the club on its recent trip to Kansas City and Tampa Bay. To scratch the baseball itch, he visited some former Triple-A teammates in Worcester last weekend. Friday marked his return to Fenway Park.
“I was absolutely pulling my hair out,” Duran said. “This is (one) of the best group of guys I’ve ever played with and I’m happy to be here. I’m gonna try not to get in everybody’s way on my crutches all day. I’m gonna try to bug them as much as possible because I’ve missed bugging them.”
