SAN DIEGO — Brian Giles thinks Carlos Beltran should think twice about trying to come back this season.
Giles should know: The Padres’ veteran outfielder struggled thoughout 2007 with much the same injury as Beltran — bone bruises in the knee — before finally opting for microfracture surgery.
So when Giles heard Beltran was planning to return later this month after missing the past six weeks with a bone bruises that aren’t getting better, he offered some advice the Mets’ All-Star center fielder might not want to hear. “I would let it calm down and be ready for next year, having gone through what I went through,” Giles said here today before the Mets’ series finale against San Diego.
“There’s a lot of risk with this injury,” Giles added. “Especially with a young player like [the 32-year-old Beltran], it could affect him for a long period of time.”
Giles wasn’t suggesting Beltran opt for microfracture surgery, a relatively rare procedure for baseball players in which holes are drilled in the knee to develop scar tissue that replicates missing cartilage.
If Beltran does choose surgery, however, Giles has shown that a quick and successful comeback is possible.
Giles, 38, had microfracture just days after the 2007 season, then came back the following year to hit .306 in 147 games. Giles is on the DL with a bruised knee this season but is expected to return soon.
“I rehabbed my butt off,” he said, recalling the offseason after the surgery. “I’ve never worked so hard to get ready for a season.”