Ahn Woo-jin decided to combine rehabilitation and military service Return is actually in the 2026 season
Kiwoom Heroes ace Ahn Woo-jin (24) decided to combine rehabilitation and military service. The return to the mound is expected to be in the second half of 2025 at the earliest.
Kiwoom club announced on the 28th, “Ahn Woo-jin will begin his military service as a social worker from the middle of next month.”
Ahn Woo-jin, who joined Kiwoom in 2018 after being appointed as the first team member, recorded only 2 wins, 4 losses, and 1 hold in 20 games in his first season, with an earned run average of 7.19. However, he began to stand out in the post-season, including the semi-playoffs and playoffs that year, and earned a place in the first team starting in his second season.
Ahn Woo-jin, who has established himself as a starting pitcher starting in 2021, has been reborn as the best pitcher in the league, showing great success with 15 wins, 8 losses, an ERA of 2.11, and 224 strikeouts in 2022. Along with his teammate Lee Jeong-hoo, he played a key role in two-hitting and led Kiwoom to a runner-up finish in the Korean Series.
Ahn Woo-jin continued to show off his skills this season with 9 wins, 7 losses, an ERA of 2.39, and 164 strikeouts.
However, after the match against SSG Landers on August 31, he complained of discomfort in his elbow, and as a result of the examination, he was diagnosed with a rupture of the medial elbow ligament, confirming his absence from the season.
Last September, Ahn Woo-jin underwent surgery by Dr. Neil Elatrace, who performed Ryu Hyun-jin’s Tommy John surgery, and began rehabilitation.
Tommy John surgery usually requires a rehabilitation period of more than a year. Accordingly, Ahn Woo-jin decided to fulfill his military service obligations during this period.
Ahn Woo-jin was disciplined for a school violence incident that broke out in high school, so he cannot be selected for the national team in competitions organized by the Korea Sports Council, such as the Olympics and Asian Games. As it is difficult to expect him to be exempt from military service, the plan is to resolve the issue of military service during the time of his injury.
Ahn Woo-jin is a social worker and will be away for about 1 year and 10 months. His discharge date is September 2025.
His actual return season is in 2026, and Ahn Woo-jin will return three years later, at the age of 27.
His overseas expansion is expected to be possible as early as 2029. Woojin Ahn has registered four seasons so far. Once he completes his number of registered days over the next three seasons from 2026 to 2028, he will be eligible to play overseas.
In the 2029 season, Ahn Woo-jin is 30 years old, which is not a small age. However, what is important in his advancement to the big leagues is his skill rather than his age. The extent to which Ahn Woo-jin maintains his skills after returning from major surgery is expected to determine his future career. 19가이드03
