Ronald Acuña Jr. Is Dealing With an ACL Tear, but When Will He Be Back?

The baseball season is the longest in professional sports, and the sheer amount of games means that players are going to get hurt. What it also means, though, is that an injury doesn't have to sideline a player for the entire season, depending on how severe it is.

Ronald Acuña Jr. is currently inactive for the Atlanta Braves as he recovers from an ACL tear that he sustained in May. This is Ronald's second tear, which has led some to wonder when he might be able to return to the Braves' lineup. Here's what we know:

Ronald has not set a return date yet, and neither have the Braves, but if all goes according to plan, he might be able to rejoin the lineup in May, a year after first sustaining the injury. According to reporting in ESPN, Ronald's return is not expected to come with any restrictions, which means that he'll return to right field, where he has traditionally played, instead of warming up by playing designated hitter for a few games.

"We're gonna make sure when he's back, he's full go, and that he can be himself and play the game he plays," Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos said. "He's very competitive, he's a tremendous base-stealer, and we're not gonna have any restrictions on him at all."

There has been some discussion that Ronald could be more cautious on the bases in his return, but Alex said that Ronald hasn't said anything about that himself.

"And I don't mean that in a bad way," Alex said. "He's just such a good base-stealer. From a medical standpoint, if he's cleared and he's fine, I think he'll find a sweet spot that makes sense for him. But we haven't told him anything specifically. Once he's back, the plan is that he's back with no restrictions."

The 12 month recovery time will be two months longer than the time he was out for his first tear, with the goal of avoiding any hesitancy that might come with the injury.

Although he's still working through the final phases of his rehab, Ronald is optimistic about the rest of his career in spite of the setbacks he's faced already.

"I know the type of player I can be," he said. "I still don't feel like I've gotten to, like, my prime-prime. The most important thing is health."

He also said that the process of recovery had taught him to be patient.

Braves fans are certainly anxious for Ronald's return to the lineup, and the good news is that the Braves seem to have a plan in place that will allow him to hit the ground running. Hopefully, he'll be able to return in top form and help the Braves get into the meat of their season and find success. Clearly, that's what Ronald is hoping he can do.