Dodgers’ Hyun-Jin Ryu expected to return from surgery in spring

Reporting from San Francisco — Hyun-Jin Ryu is expected to be ready for spring training after undergoing an exploratory operation on his left shoulder Thursday morning.

The Dodgers issued a statement saying that Dr. Neal ElAttrache repaired a labral tear in Ryu’s shoulder.

Until ElAttrache performed the operation, the Dodgers were uncertain of the level of damage to Ryu’s shoulder.

What ElAttrache found, Manager Don Mattingly said, was “as good as it could possibly be.”

“It sounded like a really good result,” Mattingly said.

Ryu, who was already ruled out for the season by Mattingly, didn’t throw a single competitive pitch this season.

The left-hander was shut down in mid-March and was never able to build the arm strength necessary to start a minor league rehabilitation assignment.

Ryu was on the disabled list twice last with shoulder-related problems.