Ryan Howard Injury: Phillies Star out Until at Least May

The Ryan Howard injury looked bad from the start. The overall reactions were bad from the start. Heck, even the early prognoses were bad.

Well, unfortunately for Philadelphia Phillies fans, all of those gut reactions have now been confirmed. 

Howard is out until at least May according to Howard Eskin's Twitter account:

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"Word I get from inside Phillies... Ryan Howard had MRI 2day and did reveal a torn Achilles tendon left leg. Likely out till next may or june"

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Honestly, this is pretty much what everyone was expecting, but it hurts to actually hear it confirmed. Even though Howard struggled big time in the postseason and had arguably his worst season as a full-time starter, he's a big part of that team.

The Phillies lineup is starting to look awfully thin, and the loss of Howard's big bat is a big blow.

No matter how you feel about him.

And as long as we're being realistic, eight months seems like an awfully kind estimate. The general consensus that I have heard regarding Achilles surgery is 6-to-12 months.

Ryan Howard is what you call a big boy and if he recovers in eight months, I will be very surprised. The Phils should probably prepare for life without Howard's bat for the majority of the 2012 season.