The Colorado Rockies’ Juan Nicasio, hit in the head Friday night by a ball hit by Washington Nationals shortstop Ian Desmond, was operated on at the Denver Health Medical Center by Dr. Allen Schreiber. Despite the severity of the injury, to his C-1 vertebrae, the doctor told the Denver Post that Nicasio might have a chance to pitch again:

“No idea . . . no idea,” said Schreiber, when asked if the injury was career-threatening. “He’s 24 years old. He can bounce back. He has every reasonable chance to come back completely . . . every reasonable chance to do that.”

Nicasio was reported to be in serious but stable condition, and he has had a plate and two screws placed in his neck to help stabilize the area. The doctors and Rockies trainer Keith Dugger said they had never seen this type of injury in a baseball player before.

Nicasio will continue to receive CT scans every few hours because he experienced internal bleeding on the right side of his head. Dugger said it’s uncertain whether additional surgical procedures might be required to address that condition.

Here is video of the incident; please note that it is fairly graphic in nature.