PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 4 (UPI) -- Philadelphia Phillies outfielder underwent an emergency appendectomy in his native Venezuela last weekend.
According to team officials, Abreu is resting comfortably at his home in Caracas and is expected to be in Clearwater, Fla., on February 18, two days before full spring training workouts begin.
"We talked about bringing him (to Philadelphia) to get examined by our doctors, but his incision needs about 10 days to heal, so he probably shouldn't be flying," general manager Ed Wade said. "We just figured it made more sense to see him in spring training as usual."
Abreu fell ill after competing in a home run derby competition on Friday night.
Abreu hit .289 and set career highs with 31 homers, 110 RBI and 36 stolen bases last season.
