White Sox pitcher won’t return in 2018 after brain hemorrhage

Chicago (AFP) – Chicago White Sox pitcher Danny Farquhar, who suffered a brain hemorrhage from a ruptured aneurysm last month, is out of the hospital and done for the Major League Baseball season.

Doctors, however, expect the 31-year-old American right-hander to return to the mound and one day resume his career.

The White Sox updated Farquhar’s condition Monday, saying he had been discharged from Rush University Medical Center earlier in the day and was resting at home with his family.

Demetrius Lopes, Farquhar’s neurosurgeon, said he expects Farquhar to be able to throw again “in the future” but will not medically release him to pitch again in a competitive game during the 2018 campaign to allow him time to fully recover from the hemorrhage.

Fellow White Sox reliever Nate Jones visited Farquhar on Saturday in the hospital and said he wanted to come back and pitch soon while Farquhar’s wife, Lexi, encouraged him to take his time.

“Lexi was like, ‘Let’s make sure you are a functioning human being and then we will worry about baseball,’” Jones said according to a posting on the team website. “They were kind of poking at each other back and forth. It was pretty awesome.”

The family said they appreciate the cards, messages and well wishes they have received since Farquhar collapsed in the team dugout during a game April 20.

“None of us in here knew what to expect,” Jones said. “To be where he’s at today, it’s a miracle. He’s a moving functioning human being. He’s Danny.”