A UCL tear or strain requiring surgery is a devastating injury that can put a player out of action for a year or more. Most often associated with baseball pitchers, it involves damage to the ulnar collateral ligament, and can mend itself through rest, but is most often addressed through surgery.
Reconstruction of the UCL doesn't make a pitcher better, and there is no guarantee that with surgery, one will ever pitch again. If the procedure is successful, the recipient will at least be able to continue to pursue baseball as a profession, but if it isn't, it means the end of a pitching career. This problem has been all too frequent of late, and many recent pitchers have gone under the knife for the operation, better known as Tommy John surgery.
