Philadelphia Phillies prospect Matt Imhof announced on Thursday that he has lost his right eye after a freak accident last week.
According to ESPN, Imhof was taking part in a routine stretching regimen after a game when a piece of equipment malfunctioned and hit him in the eye. He said that a big piece of metal hit him in the eye and head. The piece of metal fractured his nose and two orbital bones and caused Imhof to lose vision in his right eye.
The athlete posted a pic on Instagram showing that doctors have removed his right eye. That eye will be replaced with a prosthetic one.
"Doctors informed me that the damage to my eye was extreme and essentially that my eye had been crushed like a grape,"Imhof wrote. "This decision was not an easy one to make, but to me it seemed like the right one, so on Tuesday afternoon, I went forward with the surgery. This has been the hardest week of my life, but I've had amazing support from my family and friends to help me get through it.”
He went on to say that he’s lucky that it’s not worse and he’s going to be alright and will persevere and succeed.
The Phillies drafted Imhof, who is a pitcher, in 2014. He is playing for Class A Clearwater and is 4-3 with a 3.91 ERA in 14 appearances this season, according to MLB.com. He is 13-10 and has a career ERA of 3.69 in three seasons in the minors.
It is unknown when Imhof can return to baseball as there are more procedures to come.