Top ESPN baseball reporter Jeff Passan shared Monday that his lack of activity on Twitter is because he has a broken back. He wrote that the injury occurred when a large tree limb fell on him while he was doing cleanup after a big storm in Kansas City.
“The good news: I still have use of my arms, legs and Twitter fingers. The bad news: I have a broken back,” he wrote.
Passan had tweeted just once since the MLB All-Star game last Tuesday, sharing a video of Chicago White Sox pitcher Liam Hendriks’ acceptance speech for the Jimmy V Award at the ESPYS. He also has retweeted two posts, but remained relatively inactive until Monday.
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Passan said his fractured vertebra will heal in time, and he hopes the pain will subside between now and the MLB’s Aug. 1 trade deadline, which will demand his attention as deals break.
A fractured vertebrae can take up to three months to heal if surgery is not required. The recovery time is longer if surgery has to be done. Passan did not share what type of treatment he had.
But he had a message for his sources.
“To those who are so vital to helping me deliver news this time of year especially: My back may be shot, but my phone still works,” he wrote.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: ESPN’s Jeff Passan breaks back when tree limb falls on him