NC Dinos’ Koo Chang-mo has made the Asian Games roster in dramatic fashion. Koo Chang-mo was named to the final 24-man roster for the Hangzhou Asian Games baseball team announced by the KBO on Monday. The Asian Games baseball team is open to players who 먹튀검증 are 24 years old or younger or in their fourth year of professional baseball. Koo, 26, was selected as a wild card. He has been touted as the next national left-handed ace after Kim Kwang-hyun and Yang Hyun-jong, so it’s a big role for him to play at the Asian Games.
Koo is currently rehabbing. On February 2, he started against the LG Twins in Jamsil, and after throwing five pitches in the first inning, he felt pain in his elbow and voluntarily went on the DL. He was diagnosed with a flexor muscle strain and is scheduled to rehab for about three weeks. His inclusion in the roster means that the national team coaching staff and the strength and conditioning committee will need him even after his recovery.
Koo expects to return to the first team before the All-Star break in July at the earliest. To speed up his return, he traveled to Iijima Nursing Home in Japan, a center that specializes in rehabilitation, and is currently in a rehabilitation program there. The injury came just before the Asian Games roster was finalized, and there were some concerns that Koo might be dropped. KT Wiz’s Choi Soo-joon, another starter who was expected to make the team, is out for the season after undergoing elbow surgery. Koo Chang-mo himself was worried and disappointed, but at least he had a chance to wear the Korean flag again.
“I’m happy and grateful to be named to the Asian Games roster in such a difficult situation,” he said, “but I was actually worried about it (the injury), and my expectations of being selected were a bit low.” “I want to show a good performance as much as you trusted me and selected me, and I will definitely come back healthy and repay you with a performance that doesn’t disappoint,” said Koo Chang-mo.
NC head coach Kang In-hwa also said, “I’m willing to go to Japan on my own to get better. If everything goes smoothly, a quick return is possible. He wants to come back and play sooner than anyone else.”