Six weeks after undergoing surgery that ended his season, Rockies pitcher Chase Dollander couldn’t hide his smile as he stood inside the Colorado clubhouse.

With the internal brace surgery that repaired the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his right elbow now in the rearview mirror and back around his teammates in Denver for this Rockies homestand, the 24-year-old Dollander is now focused on what is to come. That includes a quicker return to the mound in 2027 if all goes according to plan.

“With the internal brace, it’s a little shorter than the full reconstruction (Tommy John),” Dollander said. “So it’s an eight to 10-to-12-month recovery depending on how it goes. With the lockout and everything that might be coming, we might move dates around and wait a little longer. We will see how things play out, but I’m going to be ready as soon as the season starts.”

That would be welcome news for a Rockies rotation in not only 2027 but also beyond. Dollander posted a 3.89 ERA in 44 innings this season before walking off the mound in Pittsburgh on May 14 after completing just one frame.

At the time, Dollander was hopeful the arm issues that forced him from that start would subside on their own. However, once surgery was decided as the only path forward, Dollander said he embraced a sense of peace about the road that was ahead.

“That waiting period was probably the hardest part of it all, not having any answers,” Dollander said. “We were just waiting to see if this thing was going to heal or not, and it didn’t.

“I didn’t feel good mentally. I wasn’t sleeping good at night. A lot of things were compounding, and then once I finally got the answer that, ‘Hey, like let’s get this thing done,’ I actually slept really good that night. It’s kind of weird because I was having surgery in the next couple of days and it was the best sleep I had in a while.”

Dollander said he is now in a “great” spot mentally and that things are “chugging right along” in his recovery routine.

“Got full range of motion back and now working on strengthening everything up,” Dollander said. “It’s one of those things you take day by day.”

Part of that daily work isn’t just on the physical side of recovery. Dollander is also making sure he is reminding himself that a return to the mound includes checking boxes to get to the end goal. Those reminders are kept in a journal, something that Dollander has done even before his surgery and quickly restarted once he could write again with his right hand.

“Being able to just put my thoughts on paper, whether I’m giving myself words of encouragement here and there or just jotting progress, I’m making sure that I’m celebrating the little wins every day,” Dollander said. “Whether it’s ‘Hey, you got to full range of motion today’ or ‘Hey, you did this new exercise today,’ I’m just making sure that along the way, I’m not losing sight of the purpose and the why for everything.”

Dollander also gives credit to the Rockies for making sure that, while individuals can celebrate their own wins in their own way, there is also a group environment in Scottsdale at the Rockies facility where milestones can be applauded as well.

“We have (pitchers) RJ (Petit) and Pierson (Ohl) down there. We have Adam Laskey, Brody Brecht and a bunch of guys that are down there getting after it,” Dollander said. “We have a good environment down there. We’re making sure that we’re celebrating the little things that happen. Whether a guy starts to throw or a guy starts to run, we’re making sure to celebrate that so each and every guy that’s there knows that he’s cared for.”

There is an emotional aspect to recovery, and Dollander’s smile this weekend has shown just how important community is to getting back on the mound.

“Any time you see somebody that’s gone through surgery and he’s had a tough time of it and he’s a part of what you do, and you see him, it’s always just a pleasure,” manager Warren Schaeffer said not long after reconnecting with Dollander in Denver. “It’s uplifting. Everybody has a different path and what they’re going through at any moment during a 162-game season.

“That’s a tough path to go through having the surgery he had, so everybody’s happy to see him.”