PORT ST. LUCIE — Jose Quintana suffered a broken fifth rib in his left side that will be surgically repaired with bone graft, sidelining the Mets’ left-hander for at least the first half of the season.
Quintana chose surgery over the conservative option of healing the fracture naturally, general manager Billy Eppler said Tuesday after conferring with doctors, including an orthopedic tumor specialist, after finding a lesion on the rib. was gone
A biopsy determined the lesion was benign, relieving Quintana of cancer concerns.
Quintana’s surgery is scheduled for Friday.
Eppler wouldn’t provide a concrete timetable on the 34-year-old Quintana’s return other than to say it will “go past July 1.”
The Post reported Monday that Quintana was expected to be sidelined from throwing for at least three months.
“A lot will depend on how quickly Jose can resume physical activity,” Eppler said at Clover Park. “How much downtime does he need after this procedure? Does he need to take a week or two weeks or 10 days before running? This is a fairly involved surgery. Anytime you do a bone graft it’s going to hurt, so it’s hard to set a specific schedule.”
Eppler said the chances of a full recovery are better with surgery than with conservative care.
“Conservative care is closer to a coin flip result,” Eppler said. “It has high certainty. It’s just surgery and what comes with surgery is closure and you have to stop moving. “
Quintana reached a two-year, $26 million contract in December.
With his absence, Tyler Magill and David Peterson are competing for a spot in the Mets’ rotation.
