The phrase “ballplayer” has taken on a whole new meaning for Athletics infielder Joshua Kuroda-Grauer.

News broke on Tuesday that Kuroda-Grauer suffered a ruptured testicle after fouling a ball off his groin during his team’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday.

Joshua Kuroda-Grauer on the ground after fouling a ball after his testicle. Getty Images

Kuroda-Grauer recovered during the at-bat and ended getting a hit before being removed from the game, as he was clearly still in a lot of pain.

The 23-year-old out of Rutgers University underwent surgery on his ruptured testicle on Tuesday and is now recovering. The surgery took place at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Phoenix.

This was a tough blow not only for Kuroda-Grauer, but for the Athletics, given how well he has performed for them since being selected from Triple-A Las Vegas on June 29.

Joshua Kuroda-Grauer prepares to hit during an Athletics game. Getty Images

Kuroda-Grauer had been hitting .417 with 1.019 OPS and produced eight multiple hit games in 16 contests.

Given how rare of an injury a ruptured testicle is, it’s unclear how long it will take Kuroda-Grauer to recover and get back on the field. Some estimates suggest that a fair recovery timeline will be four to six weeks, although it will depend on how Kuroda-Grauer is feeling as he tries to make his return.

After Kuroda-Grauer got his first MLB hit in his debut against the Los Angeles Dodgers last month, Dodgers star first baseman Freddie Freeman (who’s MLB’s active hits leader, with 2,521 base knocks in his career) showed the rookie love in what was a wholesome exchange.

Hopefully Kuroda-Grauer can return to the field soon. And hopefully he can still expect to have children in the future.

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