NEW YORK - The New York Yankees competed in the 2025 season without him, and Gerrit Cole’s idea was to recover checkpoints from an elbow reconstruction surgery last month.

Two weeks ago, it marked a milestone: removing the bracket to protect his right elbow. The next big thing is August, when he plans to throw a baseball again, starting a show that he hopes will continue until the 2026 season.

"It's really dark," Cole told reporters for the first time since the operation. "You'll then be near the end of the tunnel."

The plan is to play in major leagues again after 14 months after the surgery and to play in major leagues again. That timeline brings Cole's return in mid-March next year. But Cole insists he has no return date.

“My only thoughts for 2026 are just trying to perform the first eight weeks of this recovery,” said Cole, 34. “It’s like you’re growing bones and stuff, so it’s very important to get a good sleep, a good diet and a recovery progression.

"I hope it will come back like a new tire. That's the biggest hope. Just a pit stop that is a little longer than we hoped. But I really don't know. Who said? People are pretty confident. I'm a little pragmatic, though."

Cole's elbow reconstruction involves inserting inner brackets, which is intended to strengthen the elbow to reduce the chance of reattacking the ligament in the first year. The procedure has become popular in recent years, and unlike Tommy John's surgery, the only option to repair the collateral ligament torn for decades.

Dr. Neal Elattrache performed surgery in Los Angeles. He also had Tommy John's surgery on Yankees starters Max Fried and Carlos Rodon, providing Cole with two internal resources during his recovery.

"They know the agreement very well," Cole said. "But it's great to be supported. It makes sense and it helps the guys and others in this room."

Cole said his elbow injury did not stem from a pitch. He called it a chronic event in the major leagues after years of pitching, a regular season and playoffs. He knew what was wrong when he ran into an elbow the day after throwing 54 balls in the Grapefruit League.

The injury surfaced for nearly a year due to inflammation and edema in his right elbow until the day after Cole was shut down, which made his season debut into June. Cole won his first Cy Young award, and performed well at times until October, with 22 starts between the regular season and the playoffs. But he admitted that the injury was his first major elbow problem after 11 major league seasons without a major league season and could have been a pioneer in need of UCL reconstruction.

"I beat the odds for so long, and the anatomy of the elbow looks like it, like, 'OK, it's still working,' But that really caught up with me. But, so far, I can get everything from it and feel satisfied.

"So hopefully I'll take a lot of things that help me fight for so long and that will help in the backend. I still think these habits are good habits and are good for sustainability. I think it will be great as I come back."

Cole said he has reported rehabilitation classes to Yankee Stadium six days a week since the start of the season, ranging from 90 minutes to two hours. He has been in the game but he would rather stay in the clubhouse and act as a precaution in the early stages. Now, after reaching the eight-week checkpoint (which he described as important), he expects to be more with the team and make recommendations.

“When we get into this stage, I’m going to be involved and feel like I’m making more contributions,” Cole said. “It might be good for my mental state, my heart.”

At the beginning of last season, Cole played a similar role as another pitching coach. But he knew he would eventually return from the mound. This time it was different, as the Yankees' patchwork rotation also didn't start the season with Clarke Schmidt and there were no Luis Gil (lat) and Marcus Stroman (knee). Despite Fried's best 1.01 points, the Yankees ranked 10th in the Grand Slam with a 3.62 start.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he recently spoke with Cole about playing a more obvious role in game preparation and helping in the game.

"Since he's gotten rid of the initials of the clumsy (time) and it's hard, you're dealing with everything, I want to encourage him to start being Gerrit, go around, do his stuff and provide his job," Boone said. "We've had the conversation and I think he's looking forward to adding that right now."

Finally, Kerr will be on the road with the club this season. For now, he spends more time at home. He got off at school and picked them up. He competed in minor league baseball and soccer games. This is the family time he didn't envision during the baseball season until retirement. It raised his spirit.

But he still missed the game. So much so that every night, before falling asleep, he said he imagines pitching in his mind, playing sequences and scenes. Progress is going smoothly.

“I haven’t given up on any hits lately,” Cole said with a smile.