Brewers’ Christian Yelich: ‘Daily Living Sucked’ Before Surgery on Back Injury

Paul KasabianFeatured Columnist IIAugust 28, 2024

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Milwaukee Brewers All-Star outfielder Christian Yelich told reporters that “daily living sucked” before he decided to undergo season-ending back surgery.

“Once I got surgery, once that decision was made, it was to the point where daily living sucked,” Yelich told reporters Tuesday, per Steve Megargee of the Associated Press. “I was really uncomfortable. There was a lot of pain.”

Yelich was out from April 12 to May 8 with a low back strain. He still excelled upon his return and hit .315 (.909 OPS) with 11 home runs, 42 RBI and 44 runs scored in 73 games.

Unfortunately, Yelich’s season ultimately ended on July 23 when he left a 1-0 win against the Chicago Cubs due to back tightness.

Yelich, who was speaking with reporters for the first time since the surgery, gave more information on his situation.

“I don’t know how deep I want to get into it, but really it was just like cleaning some stuff out that needed to go and was causing some problems,” Yelich said. “I attempted to see if I could put it off until the end of the season and be able to finish, but it was kind of a long shot, and I think I knew that ultimately, (surgery) was my destination at some point.

“I was trying to see if it could be an offseason type of deal, but it just really didn’t respond the way that it needed to in order for that to happen.”

Despite seeing his season cut short, Yelich ultimately played an integral role in the first half success of the 75-55 Brewers, who entered Wednesday with a 10-game lead in the NL Central.

But obviously, the Brewers miss the three-time All-Star and 2018 National League MVP. Yelich noted that he feels “great right now” and “should have a pretty good recovery” going forward. Hopefully he’s able to be healthy enough to return in 2025 for a Brewers team that’s dominating the NL Central right now.