Ronald Acuña Jr. was forced to leave in the first inning of the Atlanta Braves-Pittsburgh Pirates game Sunday afternoon due to a non-contact injury.
Atlanta Braves’ Ronald Acuña Jr
The Braves outfielder took a lead off second base when his knee buckled. He fell to the ground, grabbed at his leg and was in obvious pain. Acuña remained down before the trainers came out to check on him. Acuña walked off the field, but didn’t return to the game with what the Braves called left knee soreness.
After the game, the four-time All-Star told reporters he expects to go on the 10-day injured list.
“I think I’m going to miss the same amount of time (as I did in 2018),” he said through a translator.
Acuña was referring to when he sprained his ACL in 2018 and missed a month. He also tore his ACL in his right knee in 2021, which cost him the second half of the season and the start of 2022.
“I got scared a lot because I felt the pain in the beginning,” Acuña said. “Hopefully, everything is going to go well.”
Braves manager Brian Snitker told reporters the reigning National League MVP would get more imaging Monday to determine the extent of the damage.
In 48 games this season, Acuña has a slash line of .246/.348/.356 with four home runs, 15 RBI and 16 stolen bases.
