2 injured players Cardinal fans shouldn't worry about and 1 that is concerning

Injuries are an aspect of the game that every team experiences. Each year, teams must handle key players getting hurt and missing periods of time. For the St. Louis Cardinals, those struggles started early this year. Before the first pitch was thrown in any regular season game this year, the Cardinals had Tommy Edman, Lars Nootbaar, Keynan Middleton, and Sonny Gray on their injured list. Riley O'Brien and Drew Rom joined that assortment soon after.

While it is likely that each of these players will remain on the IL for Opening Day, they will all still be in attendance.

Despite several of those players' injuries being on the mend by the time the calendar turned to April, others were still mired in uncertainty. Players such as Lars Nootbaar and Sonny Gray have already started rehab assignments. Meanwhile, others are facing a less certain future.

Sonny Gray's recovery should give fans confidence.

Sonny Gray, the team's newly-inked ace, went down in a spring training start with hamstring tightness. Luckily, an MRI came back negative, and everyone associated with the Cardinals breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Gray's rehab has been going quite well. Soon after his MRI, he was able to get some tossing in. Gray's scheduled rehab start with Memphis on Wednesday, April 3rd was delayed due to weather concerns. He instead threw approximately 50 pitches in a simulated game with the team's Double-A affiliate, the Springfield Cardinals.

Sonny Gray's setback--something that was out of his control--will inhibit him from pitching during the Cardinals' first homestand. Instead, Gray will have to wait until April 12th to make a start. The Cardinals will head back west to face off against the Arizona Diamondbacks that weekend.

From the beginning of Gray's injury timeline, he has been in control. Gray requested an IL placement; he wanted to make 3 rehab starts in the minors; he desired to build back up slowly rather than rush a return and risk re-injuring his hamstring.

While he won't be able to pitch in the opening homestand, concerns about Gray's injury should be quelled. He is a competitor who knows his body. Sonny Gray will return very soon from an injury that could have been much worse; the fact that he is throwing rehab games already and will miss maybe 2-3 starts, on the whole, is reassuring.

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Tommy Edman is experiencing more setbacks in his recovery.

Tommy Edman underwent arthroscopic surgery on his wrist that put him on the injured list from July 7th to August 1st last year. Plenty of smart baseball people including Bernie Miklasz, Mark Derosa, and Will Carroll have spoken about the severity of Edman's injury. In a Substack titled "Under the Knife", Carroll spoke about Edman's procedure.

The difference in my sources is what the problem might be, but either one takes him back to surgery and another half-season of healing and rehab before he could get back out there.

There is a potential that Edman will need a second surgery on his wrist. He will receive an MRI at some point this week, and the results of that scan will help give direction for the team's center fielder. If he requires another surgery, there is the potential that Edman won't be back until at least the All-Star break.

Initial reports surrounding Edman's surgery gave him a return date around Opening Day. As spring training progressed, Edman's absence at the backfields in West Palm Beach became more pronounced. It was announced on March 26th that Edman would be placed on the 10-Day Injured List. Given recent reports indicating a potential second surgery, Edman could find himself on the 60-day IL.

Thankfully, the Cardinals have players like Lars Nootbaar, Dylan Carlson, Victor Scott II, and Michael Siani who can all capably play centerfield. Edman's recovery is absolutely not going as planned for the Cardinals, and the potential for him to miss at least half of the season grows with each passing day.