--- description: What happens when you rupture a testicle? Urologists explain Joshua Kuroda-Grauer's rare injury, why it requires emergency surgery, recovery, and long-term effects. title: What Is a Ruptured Testicle? An MLB Player's Painful Injury, Explained image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt485a3785c70f140d/6a6137934e69cf5e88816149/GettyImages-2287090692.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Health](/section/health/) ## Health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # What Is a Ruptured Testicle? An MLB Player's Painful Injury, Explained  by [Angela Haupt](/author/angela-haupt/)  ## Angela Haupt Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 22, 2026 10:02 PM CUT  Joshua Kuroda-Grauer #44 of the Athletics gets ready in the batters box against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on July 20, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. Joshua Kuroda-Grauer #44 of the Athletics gets ready in the batters box against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on July 20, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona.Norm Hall—Getty Images  by [Angela Haupt](/author/angela-haupt/)  ## Angela Haupt Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 22, 2026 10:02 PM CUT Joshua Kuroda-Grauer, a Major League Baseball player for the Athletics team currently based in West Sacramento, had already hit [the first home run of his professional career](https://www.mlb.com/news/joshua-kuroda-grauer-exits-with-injury-after-hitting-1st-mlb-home-run "undefined") Monday night against the Arizona Diamondbacks when [his night took a painful turn](https://www.mlb.com/athletics/news/joshua-kuroda-grauer-placed-on-injured-list "undefined"). In the fifth inning, the 23-year-old rookie infielder hit a foul ball that ricocheted directly into his groin, dropped to his knees in the batter's box, then got back up and reached first base with a hit on the very next pitch. He kept playing for another half-inning before leaving the game. Hours later, he underwent emergency surgery for a ruptured testicle. The Athletics initially said Kuroda-Grauer had suffered a testicular contusion, or bruising caused by blunt trauma, but an ultrasound later revealed a rupture. Manager Mark Kotsay said [after visiting Kuroda-Grauer in the hospital](https://au.sports.yahoo.com/mark-kotsay-joshua-kuroda-grauer-180944933.html "undefined") that the rookie was in "great spirits" and was even joking about the injury. He marveled that Kuroda-Grauer had returned to the field despite the damage. "I think he might be the only player in history to (rupture) a testicle, stay in the game, get a hit and play another half inning of defense," Kotsay said, [according to MLB.com](http://mlb.com "undefined"). What do urologists think? "I can't believe he continued to play after that," says Dr. Ashley Winter, a urologist in Los Angeles who has performed emergency surgery for testicular rupture (but did not treat Kuroda-Grauer). Here's what actually happens when a testicle ruptures, why doctors treat it as a surgical emergency, and what recovery typically looks like. ## **What is a ruptured testicle?** When a testicle ruptures, the tough outer covering, called the tunica albuginea, actually tears open after an extremely forceful blow. "The testicle is surrounded by this very firm lining," Winter says. Inside are microscopic tubules that produce sperm and testosterone—"almost like noodly tissue that contains all the cells that make the sperm and the testosterone.” These tubules are “very, very delicate and microscopically thin,” she says. "Think of it as if you had a balloon—but imagine the balloon was a very thick lining," she says. A powerful impact can cause that lining to tear, allowing the soft tissue inside to bulge outward. "It's pretty gnarly." It's also rare. Testicular rupture generally requires "a very intense injury to that very specific area," Winter says. While she has repaired ruptured testicles in emergency surgery, she says she's more often seen them after high-speed motorcycle crashes or other crushing injuries—not sporting events. ## **Why is a ruptured testicle a medical emergency?** Doctors don't wait to operate because every hour can increase the risk of permanent damage. Once the outer lining tears, the testicle can bleed internally while also bleeding into the scrotum. "It's a combination of bleeding," Winter says. And there's plenty of room for that blood to accumulate. "The scrotum is very stretchable, so you can bleed and bleed and bleed," she says. "You could lose significant blood." The trapped blood creates pressure that can further injure the remaining healthy tissue, Winter says. Left untreated, she says, "you could cause permanent damage to the remainder of that testicle," potentially "requiring the testicle to be removed entirely if you wait too long." The injury is also excruciating. "It's so painful," Winter says. Beyond the torn tissue itself, internal bleeding and swelling can intensify the agony. Prompt surgery gives doctors the best chance of stopping the bleeding, relieving pressure, and saving the injured testicle before the damage becomes irreversible. ## **What happens during surgery?** The surgery itself is relatively straightforward. "It should be a pretty quick surgery," Winter says. Surgeons open the scrotum and lift out what Winter calls "the exploded testicle." Any tissue that has died is carefully removed, and healthy tissue is preserved and tucked back in. Bleeding is stopped, and the torn outer covering is stitched back together. Before finishing, surgeons also check that blood is still flowing normally through the organ, typically with an ultrasound. The goal is to save the testicle whenever possible—and prompt treatment can make a big difference. [Studies suggest](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5965175/ "undefined") that roughly 90% of ruptured testicles can be salvaged when they're surgically repaired within about 72 hours of the injury, compared with about 45% after that window. If the blood supply has been too badly damaged, however, the surgeon may have no choice but to remove the testicle. Even when doctors are able to save it, Winter cautions that "the surgery doesn't undo the trauma." Instead, she describes it as "a cleanup job." The goal, she says, is to preserve as much healthy tissue as possible—not erase the damage that has already occurred. ## **What is recovery like?** Pain usually improves once the damaged tissue has been repaired, though recovery doesn't happen overnight. "I think the pain should be significantly improved at the end of the surgery," Winter says. Still, patients need time to heal before returning to strenuous activity. While there aren't formal guidelines for elite athletes recovering from this injury, she says she would want a patient to wait "a minimum of two weeks" before doing anything "that could put him in jeopardy." Returning too soon could cause fresh bleeding or disrupt the repair. Because isolated ruptured testicles are so uncommon—most occur alongside other serious injuries, since they usually happen after serious accidents—there's limited research on recovery timelines. That's part of why a case like this one is so unusual, Winter says: "Most testicular trauma is not an isolated thing, like a baseball hitting your scrotum." ## **Can a ruptured testicle cause long-term problems?** It can—but not always. Even when surgeons successfully save the testicle, the injury itself may leave lasting effects. Over time, the injured testicle may become smaller or produce less testosterone or sperm than it did before. "He might have a smaller testicle," she says of a hypothetical patient. "That testicle might produce less testosterone. That testicle might produce less sperm." The reassuring news is that most men won't notice a major difference as long as their other testicle is healthy. "There are plenty of men with one testicle" who have normal testosterone levels and normal sperm counts, Winter says. That's because the remaining healthy testicle often compensates by producing enough testosterone and sperm on its own. The redundancy is by design, she adds: "The body wants us to survive and reproduce, so should something happen"—historically, she notes, more often from infection than from trauma—there's a backup. Even if the injured testicle has reduced function or has to be removed entirely, most patients can still expect to live healthy, normal lives. ## **How do you know if you've ruptured a testicle?** If you've taken a hard hit to the groin, don't try to tough it out if the pain is severe or the swelling is dramatic, Winter says. "If you have that severe of an injury that you're worried about testicular rupture, you should probably just go to the emergency room." Doctors can often tell something is seriously wrong because the injured testicle no longer has its normal feel. "It's not that you see it—it's that you feel it," Winter says. A healthy testicle is "firm" and rounded. After a complete rupture, "it feels like mush,” she says. “It's lost its rigidity." The bottom line: This isn't the kind of injury to monitor at home. “It's not like a minor thing," she says. ## **Does wearing a cup prevent it?** It's unclear whether Kuroda-Grauer was wearing a protective cup when he was injured. But Winter was unequivocal about what she'd advise to anyone playing contact or ball sports. "A neurosurgeon would tell people to wear helmets," she says. "As a urologist, obviously, I would tell people to wear a cup." She wonders whether the high-profile nature of this injury could change players' minds. "I'd be really interested to know what the actual rate of cup usage is—and after this, if it doesn't go up a lot," she says. Whether you're stepping into a batter's box or playing pickup sports on the weekend, Winter's advice is the same: "People who are doing contact sports, remember that these are very delicate organs, at the end of the day." ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/07/22/what-happens-when-you-rupture-a-testicle-joshua-kuroda-grauer/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/07/22/what-happens-when-you-rupture-a-testicle-joshua-kuroda-grauer/"},"headline":"What Is a Ruptured Testicle? An MLB Player's Painful Injury, Explained","datePublished":"2026-07-22T22:02:38.625Z","dateModified":"2026-07-22T22:02:38.795Z","description":"An Athletics rookie, Joshua Kuroda-Grauer, kept playing after rupturing his testicle. 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