- Reproduced with permission from Business Insider

It was a long night for Colorado Rockies’ Juan Nicasio on Saturday after the pitcher was struck on the side of his face by a fierce line drive, forcing him to undergo emergency neck surgery in Denver.

The Rockies star is said to be “resting comfortably” and in a “serious but stable” condition after being hit by a shot off the bat of Washington Nationals’ Ian Desmond in the second inning of the teams’ clash at Coors Field.

Nicasio lay relatively motionless for several minutes while being attended to by medics before eventually being stretchered from the field and taken to hospital. He later underwent an operation to reattached fragments of the C-1 vertebrae in his neck.

The 24-year-old is expected to leave hospital next week but it is uncertain at this stage whether or not he will be able to play professional baseball again given the unusual nature of his injury.

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