DENVER – It’s been one week since Braves rookie infielder Johan Camargo hyperextended his knee in a freak accident while running onto the field for the start of a game, and there’s a good chance it could be a bit more than one more week before he returns.
The estimate was two weeks that Camargo would be sidelined for the bone bruise that resulted from the Aug. 8 incident, which he and the Braves initially feared was a far worse ligament injury. Manager Brian Snitker acknowledged Monday that two weeks might be a little optimistic for his return date, though he’s not ruling it out.
“We just don’t know,” Snitker said. “The good thing was he didn’t swell a lot the second day. He’s a young, strong kid, so I’m thinking probably the optimistic thing would be a couple of weeks. I have a feeling he’ll heal quick, but you just don’t know.”
Camargo, who’s on the 10-day disabled list, stayed back in Atlanta to rehab his knee while the Braves are on the road for a two-city, seven-game trip that goes through Thursday. Dansby Swanson was recalled from Triple-A after Camargo’s injury and started all five games at shortstop in his absence including Monday night’s series opener at Colorado.
Camargo had started 11 consecutive games at shortstop after Swanson was demoted to Triple-A on July 26.
Before Monday, Swanson was 2-for-16 with two singles, no walks and one strikeout in four games since returning from Triple-A. He had a hit in each of the past two games and the Braves were encouraged by the number of hard-hit balls and reduction in strikeouts for the rookie shortstop since he returned sooner than expected due to the Camargo injury.
