Tigers know Tarik Skubal's surprisingly short timeline after successful surgery

The Detroit Tigers got some awful news early in May when it was revealed that Tarik Skubal wasn't just landing on the injured list, but needed surgery to clean up loose bodies in his throwing elbow.

This injury was a massive blow for the Tigers and Skubal, especially with reports indicating a recovery could be as long as two-to-three months.

However, Jon Heyman of The New York Post reported that not only was his surgery successful, but that Skubal has a chance to return much earlier than anticipated in a surprising update that's very welcome news for the Tigers.

Tigers get surprising but welcome Tarik Skubal surgery news

"Tarik Skubal's elbow surgery was such a success he could start working out within days, and two months is even seen as a conservative estimate for the 2-time Cy Young winner to return," Heyman reports. "4 to 6 weeks possible. One relatively small loose body was removed."

This is a massive surprise for the Tigers, but a very welcome one if this recovery timeline is true. Instead of two months, which could be over eight months long, he could return as soon as four weeks from now.

MORE: Three ways Pirates' Paul Skenes could lose NL Cy Young Award

Of course, that's not the likely outcome, as it's the earliest time within the range Heyman reports, but it's still a much better timeline range for Skubal than before.

Instead of two-to-three months, which could put the ace on track to return in July or August, he now has a chance to return in June if his recovery goes well.

There's still a lot of uncertainty since he's at the start of his rehab following surgery, but this surgery seemingly went well enough that Skubal has a chance to return much, much sooner than previously anticipated.

More MLB news:

• Aaron Judge makes baseball history never done before by Yankees player
• Reds' Elly De La Cruz makes baseball history not done in last 126 years
• 5 reasons to believe in Jordan Walker's breakout for Cardinals
• Pete Crow-Armstrong is still struggling to hit well for the Cubs
• Roman Anthony might’ve been overhyped for Red Sox