Kuzul

Stephen Strasburg’s torn ulnar collateral ligament has put his career on hold and done serious damage to the hopes of the Washington Nationals franchise.

Strasburg is expected to undergo Tommy John surgery to repair the ligament damage to his elbow, making a return to the mound next season very unlikely.

While Strasburg rehabs, the Nationals will have no choice but to cross their fingers and hope for the best when he returns.  Even before it begins, it appears that the 2011 season has already produced a “wait until next year” mantra.

The Nationals are hardly the first franchise to put its fortunes on hold while waiting for marquee players to recover.  In some cases, injured stars were never able to play again.  In other cases, the players returned but were never able to rediscover the pre-injury magic.

Here’s a look at 10 franchise-crippling injuries in the history of sports.

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You have been hearing about Stephen Strasburg since he burst onto the scene throwing fireballs at San Diego State.

The hype has been building ever since he was taken first overall in the MLB draft last season by the Washington Nationals.

Well, guess what?

The wait ends tomorrow, when Strasburg is expected to finally make his major-league debut against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The 21-year-old certainly will feel the pressure in front of a sold-out crowd and a full media lineup (over 200 press releases requested).

You will have to tune in tomorrow night to see if he actually lives up to the hype in his first performance, but rare is the athlete who lives up to the enormous expectations that tower over him.

With the ESPN machine running in overdrive these days, there is no shortage of hype for phenom athletes making their debut on the big stage in the past decade.

So where does Strasburg’s debut rank on this list?

Note: These are professional debuts in America, not debuts for a new team (Brett Favre the past two seasons, A-Rod in New York, etc.) or after a long layoff (I’m looking at you, Tiger).

And unfortunately, a lot of deserving hyped players were left of this list. Feel free to let me know who you think belongs here.

Now, let the hype begin.

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