‘Little Hero’ Jose Altuve (32) of the American professional baseball Houston Astros has finally started preparing for his comeback.

The Associated Press reported on the 4th (Korean time) that Altuve, who underwent surgery for a fractured thumb in March, started training this week.

Altuve, who recently took off his 메이저사이트 finger guard, trained on defense, throwing, and running.

However, his finger bones weren’t fully stiff, so he couldn’t practice batting.

Altuve, who is from Venezuela, is short at 168 cm, but is Houston’s flagship second baseman who was selected as an All-Star eight times in his career.

In 2017, he was also named the American League (AL) Most Valuable Player (MVP).

He was also a key player in Houston’s World Series victory last year.

However, Altuve suffered an unexpected injury while playing for the Venezuelan national team in the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) held in March.

Altuve fractured the thumb of his right hand after being hit by a fast ball at 96 miles per hour (154.5 km) thrown by Daniel Bard (Colorado Rockies) in the quarterfinals against the United States.

Altuve was operated on four days later and was told he would need eight weeks to fully recover.

Altuve started training after six weeks, but he has not yet decided when to return.

“I don’t know the exact timeline for my return yet,” he said. “I think the next two weeks will be really important.”

Houston is third in the American League West amid Altuve’s absence.