BOSTON — Thursday was Tanner Houck’s 27th birthday. Friday marked two weeks since he was hit in the face with a line drive by the Yankees’ Kyle Higashioka at Fenway Park.

The Red Sox have offered few updates on Houck’s status other than a note on Tuesday that he underwent successful surgery at Mass General Hospital for “open reduction and internal fixation of a right orbito-zygomatico-maxillary complex (OZMC) fracture.”

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Say that three times fast.

One person who has more information than most on Houck, though is his best friend on the team: Garrett Whitlock.

So The Athletic sought out an update from Whitlock — with the caveat that Whitlock is not, by his own admission, a trained medical professional. But he is a good friend, and he listened closely to everything Houck said.

Houck described the surgery to Whitlock as inserting two tiny plates, one roughly an inch or so long to the side of his right eye, with a second, slightly larger plate, just under his eye on the cheekbone.

“It’s not like it (the plates) covers half his face,” said Whitlock, who saw a picture from Houck of what it would look like before the surgery.

Houck stayed at the hospital overnight Tuesday and was discharged Wednesday morning. He’s been resting at his apartment with his wife Abby.

When Houck was hit two Fridays ago, it was hard to tell the severity of the injury. Houck immediately went down and was bleeding and holding a towel to his face. But Whitlock wasn’t alone in his relief as he watched Houck walk off the field on his own with trainers at his side.

“Initially when it happened I saw the laceration and thought maybe it just grazed him,” Whitlock said. “It wasn’t until probably right before he went to the hospital that day that I really got to look at it and it was like, ‘Oh wow, his face is already starting to swell up.”

Houck got stitches immediately at Fenway Park and then went to Mass General for an MRI and more tests. It was Whitlock who picked him up from the hospital and drove him back to his apartment that night.

“After I picked him up from the hospital to take him home that night, that’s when he told me it was fractured,” Whitlock said.

With a black eye and significant swelling, doctors had to wait for the swelling to subside before the surgery. In the meantime, Whitlock visited Houck to play board games and keep him company.

Whitlock saw Houck this past Monday, the day before his surgery, and said other than the black eye the swelling was mostly gone, though Houck’s jaw area was still understandably sore.

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“It’s hard when your best friend is not here,” said Whitlock, whose locker is situated right next to Houck’s in the Red Sox clubhouse. “It’s kind of hard and you definitely miss him and feel a little lonely.”

Whitlock never experienced anything as severe as Houck’s injury, but he has been hit in the throat. During a start in his freshman year at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Whitlock was hit in the throat by a line drive, cracking his voice box. He stayed in the game, however, and didn’t need surgery. His throat was sore for about a week and he lost his voice for a while and when it came back, he noticed it wasn’t as deep as before. A small price to pay for what could have been much worse.

In all the years he’s pitched getting hit has only happened once, so Whitlock said he doesn’t think about it much. He’s not sure, though, how Houck will feel.

“Mine definitely didn’t require surgery or was nowhere near the extent of his, so I can only imagine what it’s going to be like for him,” he said.

Whitlock said the only time he is more attuned to the possibility of getting hit is when a batter with a more up-the-middle swing is at the plate, like Luis Arraez or Giancarlo Stanton.

“Their swing path is up the middle, so it’s always in the back of your mind,” Whitlock said. “I think Stanton is the only guy I’m like, ‘My life could end,’ because of how hard he hits and where he hits it. But every other time it’s such a rare thing you put it out of your mind.”

There’s no timetable at the moment for Houck’s return. There aren’t many points of reference for the type of surgery Houck had and how long it will take to heal, but in August 2021 Toronto’s Chris Bassitt, then with Oakland, was hit in the face and needed surgery to insert a plate. It wasn’t the same exact surgery, but Bassitt was able to return about a month later in late September and made two three-inning starts before the season ended.

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Amidst the uncertainty, Houck has been able to keep a good attitude.

“We joked he got a new face for his birthday,” Whitlock said.

Whitlock is two weeks older than Houck and Houck always reminds him of his age.

“I texted him happy birthday, old man,” Whitlock said, “And he replied, ‘Thanks, grandpa.’”

Whitlock is hoping that banter with his friend and teammate can return to Fenway Park sooner than later.

(Top photo of Whitlock and Houck: Maddie Malhotra / Boston Red Sox / Getty Images)