The Mets announced that Zack Wheeler underwent successful Tommy John surgery on Wednesday to repair the flexor pronator tendon and reconstruct the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.
The surgery was performed by Dr. David Altchek and he is expected to make a full recovery.
Wheeler will miss all of 2015 and is expected to return about June of 2016 or approximately 14 months after having the surgery.
Last Friday, Wheeler addressed questions about his elbow with the media, saying:
“I can’t complain about how the Mets handled me last year innings wise,” Wheeler continued. “I don’t have any complaints at all about how they handled me.”
“Honestly, I’ve had pain in that spot in my elbow since I got drafted — since before I got drafted,” Wheeler said. “It just happened to really flare up and be a little more painful last year, but not enough to where I was actually like, ‘Oh my gosh.'”
Wheeler said he was surprised to learn of his ligament tear. “I cried a little,” he admitted. He was called into the office my Mets COO Jeff Wilpon told him the news it was a UCL tear.
