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Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing was scheduled to undergo elbow surgery Wednesday, according to multiple people with knowledge of the situation who weren’t authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

To address a partial UCL tear, he was expected to undergo a hybrid internal brace procedure, which would set him up to return to catching full time in nine months. He would be able to hit well before then.

Rushing had two stints on the injured list with a flexor strain in his right forearm, along with the UCL tear. He said last month that imaging suggested the slight tear in his UCL hadn’t worsened since 2022.

Rushing took on a larger role this season when primary catcher Will Smith was sidelined for three months by a nagging neck injury. By Aug. 1, Rushing had already logged 245 plate appearances, dwarfing his 2025 rookie season’s total in the majors (155).

Though he’d carried high workloads in the minors before, being a major-league starting catcher comes with added responsibility. Rushing went through a learning curve juggling his defensive and offensive responsibilities, and navigating intense online scrutiny of his outbursts on the field and in the dugout.

He’d settled into the role, and owned an .809 OPS, when his elbow injury flared while throwing before a game on Aug. 2. He landed on the IL the next day and returned at the beginning of September in a pinch-hitting role.

Rushing logged just four at-bats (0-for-4) before he aggravated the injury trying to build up in a throwing program. He returned again for the last series of the regular season, firmly in a battle for a postseason roster spot as a bat off the bench, and went hitless in three at-bats.

Rushing had initially been hopeful he’d be able to avoid surgery.

“My main plan moving into playing every day in the future is, make sure that my body can hold whatever stress or whatever is needed for this team — first base, behind the plate, whatever they need,” Rushing told the Times last month. “I want to make sure my body can handle it and do it for 162.”

Vatican officials expect a one-week hospital recovery for the 71-year-old religious leader ahead of his scheduled Latin America tour.

Pope Leo XIV is to undergo surgery to remove a lung nodule, the Vatican has announced.

The 71-year-old leader of the Catholic Church will enter Rome’s Gemelli Hospital late on Tuesday morning for the procedure, which is expected to require about a week of inpatient recovery and has forced the cancellation of upcoming papal audiences.

During his weekly blessing in St Peter’s Square on Sunday, Leo told pilgrims that a small nodule was found on his left lung during a routine checkup and said it was “well-contained” and had been spotted early.

“The doctors believe it’s best to take action, so, following their advice, I’ve decided to have surgery to remove it,” he said during remarks delivered in Italian.

Later, the Vatican said a week of recovery time is expected after Leo’s surgery, and his audiences have been cancelled until October 20.

Spokespeople did not clarify whether the nodule is believed to be malignant.

The pope has no reported history of serious illness and is considered physically active, routinely swimming and playing tennis.

The upcoming surgery comes ahead of an official Latin America tour scheduled for November 6–17, with stops planned across Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru.

Whether the operation and subsequent recovery will force changes to the itinerary remains unclear, though the pontiff told reporters on Sunday that he intends to make the journey.

The late Pope Francis, Leo’s predecessor, died at age 88. Francis was hospitalised several times and grew frail in his later years. He did not usually announce his hospital visits in advance, sometimes sparking intense media speculation about his health.