New York Yankees outfielder Dustin Fowler’s MLB debut was cut short Thursday night.
During the first inning of his first game with the big league club, Fowler suffered an open rupture of the patellar tendon in his right knee crashing into the first-base-line rail at the Chicago White Sox’s Guaranteed Rate Field.
The 22-year-old had to be carted off the field and was rushed to a nearby hospital.
The injury brought Yankees skipper Joe Girardi to tears.
“I was in tears, actually,” Girardi said after the game. “Because I know what it takes to get here and how hard he has worked and what is supposed to be a really exciting day for him turns into a really bad day. I’m still disbelief. I’m in tears for the kid.”
Per ESPN, Fowler, who was set to lead off the second inning, will have to wait until the 2018 season for his first major league at-bat. He underwent surgery to repair his knee and will miss the rest of the 2017 season.
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