Professional baseball player Jang Du-seong (26) of the Lotte Giants was discharged after a diagnosis that he did not have a serious injury.
The Lotte Giants formed a starting lineup consisting of Kim Dong-hyeok (center fielder), Go Seung-min (first baseman), Víctor Reyes (right fielder), Jeon Jun-woo (left fielder), Son Ho-young (second baseman), Jeon Min-jae (shortstop), Kim Min-sung (third baseman), Han Tae-yang (designated hitter), and Son Seong-bin (catcher) for the game against the SSG Landers in the '2025 Shinhan Bank SOL Bank KBO League' held at Incheon SSG Landers Field on the 13th. The starting pitcher was Lee Min-seok.
On this day, Lotte removed Kim Jin-wook and Jang Du-seong from the first-team roster and called up Koo Seung-min and Yoon Seong-bin. Jang Du-seong was injured when he was returning to first base during an away game against KT in Suwon on the 12th, when a pickoff throw from pitcher Park Young-hyun hit his side. Despite extreme pain, Jang Du-seong ran directly to second base after the pickoff throw hit him and bounced away. However, after sliding into second base, he started to vomit blood, shocking everyone in the stadium.
Jang Du-seong was immediately transported to a nearby Hwahang Hospital, where a detailed examination revealed that he had sustained a bruise to his lung, resulting in bleeding. Lotte stated in the morning that he planned to be hospitalized at Hwahang Hospital for 4 to 5 days due to the lung bruise before moving to Busan.
Fortunately, Jang Du-seong avoided a serious injury and was discharged earlier than expected. Before the game on this day, Lotte explained, "Jang Du-seong received a recommendation that he could be discharged since there was no more bleeding during his treatment at Hwahang Hospital. It seems he will move to his home in Cheonan to rest. He is scheduled to undergo an additional examination by a specialist in thoracic surgery at Samsung Medical Center in Seoul next Monday (16th)."
After getting the opportunity to lead off as a center fielder due to the injury of Hwang Seong-bin, Jang Du-seong had impressive statistics this season, batting .330 with 47 hits in 155 at-bats, 23 RBIs, 34 runs, and 9 stolen bases, resulting in an OPS of .712. However, Jang Du-seong was also forced out of the team due to an unexpected injury.
Lotte manager Kim Tae-hyoung expressed relief that Jang Du-seong avoided a serious injury, stating, "That level of injury is considered serious. I was really worried." He added, "I think he will probably decide how to proceed after undergoing further examinations," showing concern for Jang Du-seong's condition.
Regarding the vacancy in the leadoff position created by the injuries of Hwang Seong-bin and Jang Du-seong, manager Kim Tae-hyoung said, "Today I played (Kim) Dong-hyeok, but honestly, I am not entirely confident. I even asked the hitting coach if Dong-hyeok could be the leadoff. However, I see that there is no one to play as a leadoff. So I was thinking of trying all the fast hitters at least once, considering (Son) Ho-young is also aggressive at hitting."
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