Benintendi needs surgery on broken wrist bone

Andrew Benintendi has a fractured right hamate bone and will need surgery, but New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone is hopeful that it will not be a season-ending injury for the outfielder.

Boone revealed after the Yankees’ 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday that Benintendi had broken the hook of his right hamate bone. Benintendi was placed on the 10-day injured list Saturday with right wrist inflammation after injuring it on a swing and miss during Friday night’s game at Tropicana Field

Benintendi had undergone further testing after X-rays and an MRI had not revealed the source of the injury. But there was still some confusion stemming from the diagnosis, since Benintendi underwent surgery to have the hamate bone in his right hand removed before his freshman year in college.

“He [had the surgery to remove the hamate bone] but there could have been some left or whatever. He’ll have to have surgery on that,” Boone explained.

“It’s something I’ve dealt with before,” said Benintendi, who was wearing an air cast. “I have [dealt with it] before but now we’re still trying to learn some more things. But yeah, that’s what it is right now. Meeting with doctors tomorrow in New York and go from there. Just take it day by day at this point.”

Nonetheless, because of the general understanding that hamate-bone surgery generally has a short recovery time, Benintendi was hopeful he could be a contributor later in the season, drawing from his previous experience with the injury.

“When I went through this [type of injury] before, it was right around a couple of weeks. So, we’ll see what happens,” Benintendi added. “Obviously, I want to get back out there and get back in time for the latter part of the season, and then hopefully the playoffs. It’s all too early to say right now. I’ll know more tomorrow when I talk to the doctors.”

Boone, who said he underwent a similar surgery during his own playing career, said he was hopeful it would not necessarily be a season-ending procedure for Benintendi but also stated he did not want to speculate.

Benintendi, who is batting .254 with 12 RBIs in 33 games since he was acquired from the Kansas City Royals, called the injury something he “couldn’t play through right now” and said he expected to undergo surgery “as soon as possible.”

The 28-year-old Benintendi, who was an All-Star this season with the Royals, is hitting .304 overall with 51 RBIs.