Less than six weeks after a line drive hit him in the face and fractured his cheek, Chris Bassitt is officially returning to action.
Bassitt will start for the Oakland A’s on Thursday, first reported by Matt Kawahara of the S.F. Chronicle.
The All-Star right-hander was hit by the liner on Aug. 17, and had surgery a week later for a displaced tripod fracture. Luckily he avoided injuries to his brain or eye, and soon he was cleared to resume throwing. Throughout his recovery, Bassitt was vocal about his determination to get back on the mound this season, and now he’ll do so faster than anybody could have expected.