In a blow to South Korea's national baseball team, staff ace Won Tae-in of the Samsung Lions will miss next month's World Baseball Classic due to a right elbow injury, the team announced on Sunday.
The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) has requested that the WBC organizing committee allow South Korea to replace Won with LG Twins reliever You Young-chan for the tournament, scheduled from March 5 to 17.
Won, a right-hander and key pitcher for the Lions, first experienced pain in his right elbow during the team's first phase of spring training in Guam in January. Initial testing at the time revealed no significant damage, allowing him to continue participating in the second phase of training camp in Okinawa, Japan.
Despite the initial clean bill of health, the pain persisted, prompting Won to undergo further examination on Friday. Those tests confirmed damage to his elbow flexor.
"It is not a serious injury, but he will need to be sidelined for about three weeks," a Lions official stated. "He will undergo rehab with the team in Okinawa."
The absence of Won, considered one of South Korea's top pitchers, comes at a critical time as the national team prepares for the prestigious international competition, where they will aim to defend their strong showings in previous WBC editions.
