The Los Angeles Dodgers got a key player back from injury on Monday, as utility man Kiké Hernández was activated off the 60-day injured list.Hernández's start to the season was delayed after undergoing elbow surgery over the offseason. It was a long recovery for the veteran, and it seems that the injury was worse than most people even understood.According to Hernández, the team's surgeon who performed the procedure, Dr. Neal ElAttrache, told him that this was the worst injury of this kind that he had ever seen.Hernández, who was a free agent this winter, called up Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman to have ElAttrache provide the team with proof.“I woke up with ElAttrache telling me, ‘This was the worst injury I’ve ever seen of this kind, and I don’t know how you played,’” Hernández said to reporters on Monday. “And I told him, ‘Thank you, I take it as a compliment.’ And I FaceTimed Andrew right then and there, and I told him, ‘ElAttrache, tell him what you just said.’ And I was like, ‘I did this for you, so you better bring me back.’”There was never much doubt that Hernández would return to the Dodgers this season, even with his down year in 2025. And now, the veteran is back and better than ever, which is a great sign for him putting together a bounce back season.Hernández played through excruciating pain during the playoffs, and he still found ways to impact the game. In Game 6 of the World Series, Hernández started the game-winning double play, forcing a Game 7 on an incredible throw from left field.Top Plays of 2025: No. 18Kiké Hernández starts a heads-up double play to send the World Series to Game 7! pic.twitter.com/bD6zP9zsv5— MLB (@MLB) November 30, 2025The veteran also drove in three runs over the seven-game series, but according to him, the pain was horrible any time he went to the plate.“Every time I would get in my batting stance, I would feel like I had a blowtorch on,” Hernández said.Hernández missed nearly two months on the injured list, and then re-injured his elbow in the postseason. Overall, he hit just .203 with an OPS of .621 across 92 regular season games last year.Despite his pain, Hernández wouldn't let the team take him out of the lineup in the playoffs. Hernández was determined to help the Dodgers win another World Series, and he got exactly what he wanted in the end.“I don’t think anyone appreciated how severe the injury was,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “He was not going to come out of the lineup and gave himself every opportunity to play with the pain that he was going through. That’s kind of what makes him special.”Hernández has been the Energizer Bunny for Los Angeles over the years, and the team is very happy to have him back. In his first game back on Monday, he drove in a run in his first at-bat, and ended up going 2-for-2 on the day.Kiké back like he never left! pic.twitter.com/x696VcRCEj— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) May 26, 2026For now, the Dodgers will let Hernández ease back into action, using him in his usual utility role. But having him available for the postseason is the most crucial part of this entire operation, as he's proven time and time again to have the clutch gene in his game.Sign up for our free newsletter and follow us on X/Twitter and Facebook for the latest newsAdd us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow