SSG Kwang-Hyun Kim prayed for a speedy recovery of KIA foreign batter Socrates Britto.



Kim Kwang-hyun held an unusual press conference ahead of the match against KIA at SSG Landers Field in Incheon today (3rd) and offered an apology to Socrates, who suffered a fractured nose bone by his pitching.



Earlier, Socrates was hit between the nose and the right clown by Kim Kwang-hyun's fastball, who was a SSG starter, in the 2nd out and 3rd base in the 4th inning the previous day.



Socrates was immediately taken to the hospital by an ambulance and was diagnosed with a 'fracture of the nasal bone' as a result of computed tomography.



Kim Kwang-hyun, who could not apologize directly to Socrates because he was sent off from the game, said he apologized by phone after the game.



Kim Gwang-hyeon said, "I called Socrates right away when he heard that Socrates could answer the phone." He said, "I apologized, but Socrates said it was okay because it could happen enough during the match."



Socrates, who received the apology, was said to have read through Kim Kwang-hyun, saying that it happened during the match.



Kim Gwang-hyun said, "I said that I would like him to get well soon and return to the baseball field, but Socrates also recovered quickly and said he wanted to compete with me again."



He continued, "I feel sorry for Socrates and the KIA club and fans."



Kim Kwang-hyun also revealed that he plans to visit the hospital where Socrates was admitted.



He said, "I didn't have time to apologize properly because I was sent off yesterday, and I'm so upset that I didn't apologize on time.



Meanwhile, Socrates, who was transported to Chosun University Hospital in Gwangju today, is scheduled to undergo surgery next week after reducing swelling for a week.



After the operation, there must be a recovery period of 2 to 4 weeks, so Socrates is expected to be able to return as early as August.



A KIA official said, "Even in 2011, Kim Seon-bin was hit in the face by a batted ball and fractured his nose bone. Even then, about 6 weeks passed before he returned to the game."



The KIA deleted Socrates from the first-team entry and registered outfielder Ho-ryeong Kim instead.