Aroldis Chapman.Photo: Julio Aguilar/Getty
Athletes might think twice before getting inked mid-season after the New York Yankees announced that pitcher Aroldis Chapman will miss multiple weeks of games due to an infection from his new tattoo.
The Yankees announced Saturday that Chapman will be out for 15 days.
“Prior to tonight’s game, the Yankees placed LHP Aroldis Chapman on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to 8/24) with an infected wound from a recent tattoo,” the organization statedon Twitter.
While speaking with reporters after New York’s 4-1 loss to the Oakland Athletics on Saturday, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said that Chapman had stayed at the hotel during the road series and that the infected area of his leg is “pretty bad,“per SI.
Aroldis Chapman #54 of the New York Yankees.Sarah Stier/Getty
“We were hoping he could knock it out and be able to take care of it the last couple of days, but it’s still significant enough from a tattoo that he recently got,” said Boone.
The 34-year-old Chapman has been adding tattoos during the season for years without trouble before this infection in his leg, Boone said. “This is more of an unfortunate situation that turned into an infection,” the Yankees' manager said, adding, “I don’t have tattoos. That’s a personal choice, usually a pretty safe thing to deal with.”
Through a team translator, Chapmanaddressed the infection with mediain the Yankee locker room. “I have many tattoos and I’ve never gone through something like that,” he said, according to YES Network. “I remember chatting with the doctor and he basically told me there’s an infection right now going on. I had a fever, but I feel much better now.”
Despite the setback, Chapman promised New York fans he’ll be ready to go once the infection clears. “I don’t think this is gonna take away too much time for me,” he said,per SI. “I’m just waiting for the next couple of days for everything to heal correctly so I can start doing all kinds of baseball activities.”
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The New York Yankees will continue their road trip with a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels on Monday in Anaheim, California.
source: people.com
