Shohei Ohtani returns to Dodgers lineup following knee injuy

CHICAGO — The worst-case scenario, it seems, has indeed been averted.

Two days removed from a knee inflammation injury, Shohei Ohtani was back in the Dodgers’ lineup as designated hitter on Saturday.

Ohtani had been removed early from Thursday’s game in Pittsburgh with what the team said was left knee inflammation, then also sat out Friday’s series-opener in Chicago against the White Sox.

From the start, manager Dave Roberts had insisted Ohtani’s injury was minor. He believed it was unrelated to the knee surgery the two-way star had in 2019 to address a rare congenital condition.

Still, the fact Ohtani had to leave one game, then miss another, raised some concerns about a potentially more severe issue.

Ohtani’s return to the lineup for Saturday should –– at least for now –– put them to rest.

There was no obvious indication on Thursday night that Ohtani was dealing with discomfort, which included some swelling in the back of his knee, not any one incident that Ohtani could pinpoint to the training staff for having caused it.

Roberts said the club decided to be “proactive” by taking Ohtani out of Thursday’s game.

The same calculus applied to his off day on Friday, even though imaging on Ohtani’s knee had come back clean.

After Friday’s loss at Rate Field, Roberts said he was optimistic about having Ohtani back in the lineup Saturday. Earlier in the day, he said he still expects the superstar to make his next scheduled pitching start next Wednesday, as well.

Still, until Ohtani actually returned to the field, such hopes seemed at least somewhat uncertain.

Now, the Dodgers will be hoping Ohtani’s knee issue is in the past.

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