Joba Chamberlain dislocates ankle, has surgery

TAMPA, Fla. -- Joba Chamberlain suffered an open dislocation of his right ankle Thursday afternoon, a freak accident that derailed his accelerated comeback from Tommy John surgery and could be career-threatening.

A somber and shaken Brian Cashman delivered the news Friday morning, describing the accident as "terrible" and "very significant."

Chamberlain, 26, who had been expected to be back in the bullpen by the end of June, had surgery Thursday night after being taken by ambulance to a local hospital, St. Joseph's, where he will remain for "a number of days," Cashman said.

The general manager said he did not have a time frame of any kind for Chamberlain, who lost a significant amount of blood after suffering the injury, which occurred at an indoor amusement center in the Ybor City area of Tampa that Cashman said has "trampolines and stuff like that."

Chamberlain was spending time with his son, Karter, 5. The team did not say whether Chamberlain was using the trampoline when he was injured.

Cashman said he couldn't say for sure if the righthander, recovering from elbow surgery performed June 16, definitely is out for the rest of this season, but one expert said that almost certainly will be the case. And it could be much worse.

Dr. Steven Weinfeld, the chief of foot and ankle service and associate professor of orthopaedic surgery at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, said it not only is unlikely that Chamberlain will pitch again this season but that the injury could be "career-threatening."

"In the best of circumstances, you would not put weight on it for two to three months, let alone trying to [throw],'' Weinfeld said by phone Friday morning. "It would be very surprising if he pitched at all this year."

Weinfeld said the injury possibly was "limb-threatening" if not immediately treated properly because of the chance for infection.

In an open dislocation, the bone pushes through the skin. Weinfeld said Chamberlain's injury is "analogous" to the gruesome injury suffered by Joe Theismann on Nov. 18, 1985, on "Monday Night Football" when the quarterback's lower leg snapped during a tackle in a game against the Giants. The injury ended Theismann's career.

"It's potentially career-threatening, I would think," Weinfeld said, referring to Chamberlain.

Cashman found out about the injury Thursday evening in Fort Myers moments before the Yankees-Red Sox game. When asked if the injury is career-threatening, he said, "I'm not in a position to say."

Asked a form of that question later, Cashman said: "I just couldn't say. I'd like to say no. My heart and my gut tells me no, that that's not the case. But at the same time, I don't want to spew information that I'm not in a position to talk about. It's not my area of expertise. I don't want to make mistakes on either side of that."

Manager Joe Girardi visited Chamberlain in the hospital Friday morning and Cashman planned a visit later in the morning. Girardi said he spent about 30 minutes with Chamberlain and that both of them were "a little emotional."

"I know how much he was looking forward to coming back ahead of schedule," Cashman said. "He had pushed the schedule ahead and then this was just an unfortunate accident that's clearly derailed that. What more does that mean? I don't know. I'm not in a position to say, other than to tell you that he's a good man. He's a good father and it's just an unfortunate circumstance that's occurred."

The Yankees expected to again have one of the best bullpens in baseball, a unit that would have been augmented with the addition of Chamberlain in mid-to-late June.

"This guy worked all year long, all winter working and working, and he was ahead of most people's timetable," Girardi said. "And then to have something like this happen, it's crushing. But we'll get him back and he's going to be a force down there when we get him."

Derek Jeter said he was in contact with Chamberlain on Friday morning.

"You feel terrible for him," Jeter said. "Rehab is frustrating. To put all that work in and almost be back and then have something like this, that's bad."