Lotte announced on the 9th that Ko Seung-min was diagnosed with a partial rupture of the ligament inside the left thumb and was out of power, requiring about four weeks of rehabilitation treatment. As a result, Ko Seung-min was confirmed to be out in the first half of the league. His injury came in the match against Hanwha in Daejeon on the 6th. 꽁머니지급 Ko Seung-min made a head-first sliding that flew all over to the first base when he hit the fourth forkball of opposing pitcher Lee Tae-yang in the top of the fifth inning to get a ground ball. The result was out, but the bigger problem was that it led to the injury of Ko Seung-min, who was recently loved by Lotte fans due to his good defense.

Ko Seung-min, who wore Lotte’s uniform as the eighth overall in the second first round in 2019, mainly played as a right fielder last year, but turned to first baseman from this year. It was a change in position due to the league’s top batting sense shown in the second half of last season. This season, Ko Seung-min played a big role in defense along with batting. He boasted a diving catch and a wide range of defense. His potential exploded against Doosan in Ulsan on the 30th of last month. At the top of the ninth inning, Lotte closer Kim Won-joong allowed consecutive hits, causing a crisis of first and second base with no outs. Yang Seok-hwan of the Doosan Bears, who immediately hit the batter’s box, attempted a sending bunt, but the ball floated into the air. Ko Seung-min, who saw this, blew himself from first base toward home and caught him at once to increase the out count. The play didn’t end here. Ko Seung-min immediately threw the ball to second base with a quick judgment and completed a double play that caught second baseman Cho Soo-haeng. Kim Won-joong, who was burdened, handled the rest of the batters with a hit and neatly blocked the ninth inning. Ko Seung-min’s good defense led to the team’s encouragement.

However, there is no guarantee that Ko Seung-min, who was confirmed to be out in the first half due to this injury, will play such an active role in the second half. Coincidentally, all the main players who returned from injuries suffered a slump. Examples include Na Kyun-an, Choi Joon-yong, and Noh Jin-hyuk, who made their return matches side by side against Hanwha in Daejeon on the 5th. Earlier, Na Kyun-an was found to be inflamed in his right elbow and returned about two weeks after rehabilitation, while Noh Jin-hyuk and Choi Joon-yong returned after a long time since they were eliminated from the first division due to side and back pain, respectively.

However, Na Kyun-an, who started the game, collapsed with three runs in five innings, and bullpen Choi Joon-yong gave up the winning hit to Hanwha Choi Jae-hoon and became a losing pitcher in his return match. Noh Jin-hyuk also remained silent with no hits in four at-bats, and failed to produce a hit for the next 10 at-bats.

It is fortunate that Ko Seung-min, who played well in both offense and defense in the first half of this season, can play in the second half after completing rehabilitation well, but otherwise Lotte will have to bear a heavy burden.