Agent: Dahl to have spleen removed

Three days after suffering a lacerated spleen in an outfield collision while playing for Double-A New Britain, No. 2 Rockies prospect David Dahl has chosen to undergo surgery to remove his spleen, his agency announced late Sunday.

Originally expected to miss the rest of the season following surgery to save the organ on Thursday, Dahl could return before the end of the campaign after undergoing the splenectomy.

The Twitter account of Sosnick Cobbe & Karon, Dahl's representatives, tweeted the news on Sunday evening.

.@ddahl21 has made the difficult decision to have his spleen removed tomorrow. Doing so allows him to return (1/2)

- Sosnick Cobbe Karon (@SosnickCobbe) May 31, 2015

(2/2) this season instead of next year, though it also brings other challenges. #Courage #Prayers #RonnieLott1986 #Rockies #MiLB

- Sosnick Cobbe Karon (@SosnickCobbe) May 31, 2015

Dahl was pursuing of a fly ball to shallow center field Thursday against Altoona when he collided with second baseman Juan Ciriaco, who leaped in an attempt to avoid the outfielder. Ciriaco's knee struck Dahl in the chest and head, and although Dahl left the field under his own power, he was later rushed to a hospital, where doctors discovered internal bleeding.

The 21-year-old underwent an emergency operation to repair what Yahoo! Sports' Jeff Passan reported was a "massive laceration" of the spleen and came through it successfully. However, Passan noted that Dahl likely would need to wear some form of protective abdominal padding for the rest of his career to protect the spleen due to the severity of the injury.

It was initially feared that Dahl may have suffered a concussion and rib injury, but Rockies senior director of player development Zach Wilson said in a statement on Friday, "He has no bone fractures and did not suffer a concussion."

The morning after the initial operation, Dahl tweeted some of his thoughts.

Doing a lot better today! #GoRockies pic.twitter.com/kW8aSg7G3a

- David Dahl (@ddahl21) May 29, 2015

The injury came as Dahl was starting to put things together in his first season in the Eastern League. After batting .222/.267/.309 in 19 games in April, the 2012 10th overall Draft pick registered a .307/.320/.446 slash line in 25 May contests.

Dahl is no stranger to lost seasons. He missed all but 10 games in 2013 due to a disciplinary issue out of Spring Training and a torn hamstring suffered in early May.

The two-time Rockies Organization All-Star has an .858 OPS in four Minor League seasons.