HOUSTON (SportsRadio 610)- Playing for the first time since suffering a sprained right knee on September 22, Yordan Alvarez went 2-for-4 in game one of the Astros 3-1 Wild Card Series loss to the Tigers on Tuesday afternoon, but on Wednesday, the Astros slugger admitted he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to play at all.
“Honestly speaking, I think the first three days, I really didn't see myself playing,” Alvarez said through an interpreter. “Obviously had a lot of inflammation. After that, with the rest, the treatment, the inflammation went down. Then after that, that was kind of when the shift happened, I was like, okay, I can play.”
Alvarez missed the final six games of the regular season after suffering the injury in a game against the Los Angeles Angels, and the swelling did not subside until Sunday.
“It was a long week,” Alvarez said. “Long week of a lot of work, a lot of exercises and physical therapy just to strengthen the knee, making sure the knee is as strong as possible.”
Alvarez said he’s wearing a brace on his right knee, and he’s not feeling any pain. He played a career-high 147 games this season and was forced to play a lot of left field after Kyle Tucker’s return. Alvarez had surgery on both knees in 2020, and he said the extra workload hasn’t caused him any problems.
“I think since I had the surgery in 2020, I really haven't had anything with my knees, any pain or anything whatsoever. Obviously, this is part of just getting hit there, hitting myself there. But before that, didn't really have any pain.”