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Phillies ace Zack Wheeler will start the season on the injured list as he recovers from surgery to resolve thoracic outlet syndrome, but it might not be a very long stint. The Phillies are officially starting his minor-league rehab assignment on Saturday. The expectation, per The Athletic, is that Wheeler will work three innings for the Triple-A Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs. 

Rehab assignments can last up to 30 days and it appears the plan is three or four rehab starts. 

"Four-ish, give or take," Wheeler said Monday, via MLB.com.

In other words, Wheeler should be back in the Phillies' rotation by late April, barring any setbacks.

Wheeler had to miss the last several weeks of the 2025 season after a blood clot was discovered in his right shoulder area. He had thoracic outlet decompression surgery on Sept. 23, which required the removal of the first rib nearest to his shoulder. After hearing all this, the thought might be that he would miss a lengthy period of time in 2026. Plus, "thoracic outlet syndrome" has ruined some careers, such as Stephen Strasburg and Matt Harvey. Of course, others like Josh Beckett and Merrill Kelly were able to return to form afterward. Further, Wheeler's procedure was a little different, as most cases involve nerve damage, while his was a blood clot. 

When healthy, Wheeler has been a force in the majors for a while. He has twice finished second in NL Cy Young voting, including 2024. Last season, in 24 starts before his injury, he was 10-5 with a 2.71 ERA (163 ERA+), 0.94 WHIP and 195 strikeouts against 33 walks in 149 ⅔ innings. 

The Phillies' rotation without Wheeler to start the year is Cristopher Sánchez, Aaron Nola, Jesús Luzardo, Taijuan Walker and rookie Andrew Painter. Due to days off on April 2, 9 and 16, it's possible the Phillies could plan this thing out so Walker, for example, would only make two starts before Wheeler rejoins the rotation. 

Again, this all assumes everything goes well.

Regardless, this has all been very good news for Wheeler and the Phillies so far in his rehab process.