Yu Darvish Injury Update: Rangers P Could Miss at Least 4 Months with UCL Sprain

Almost everything that could have gone wrong for the Texas Rangers in 2014 did. Unfortunately, it appears as though the bad luck has already returned in 2015, as ace starting pitcher Yu Darvish is likely to miss a significant amount of time.

According to Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News, the 28-year-old hurler's UCL injury could lead to the need for Tommy John surgery:

If the Japanese star does undergo Tommy John surgery, he will miss the entire 2015 campaign. Rangers general manager Jon Daniels revealed it could be a four-month injury if Darvish forgoes the surgery, per Stefan Stevenson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram:

It is unclear what path Darvish will take at this point, but he is keeping all avenues open, per a statement Grant relayed on Twitter:

Darvish was limited to just 22 starts last season due to injury, but that number could be considerably smaller in 2015.

Fox Sports Southwest's Matt Mosley noted that things couldn't get off to a much worse start for the Rangers this season:

Darvish has been named to the American League All-Star team in each of his three seasons in the big leagues. He has a career ERA of 3.27, and he is unquestionably Texas' go-to guy on the mound.

Regardless of the decision he and the Rangers ultimately make, this news is a massive blow to the team's chances in the AL West. While they have other capable pitchers, Darvish was undoubtedly the Rangers' ace, and they lack a ready-made replacement for the talented lefty.

The Rangers' battle to bounce back from a disastrous 2014 campaign just became that much more difficult.

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