Chicago White Sox manager Tony La Russa OK to travel with team for Oakland A’s celebration, but not cleared to coach

Chicago White Sox manager Tony La Russa has been cleared by doctors to travel from his home in Phoenix to Oakland for Sunday’s jersey retirement ceremony for former Athletics pitcher Dave Stewart, the team said in a statement Saturday morning.

La Russa, 77, has been missing from the Sox dugout since Aug. 30 because of heart-related issues and still isn’t cleared to manage, but he will attend the ceremony and fly back to Chicago with the team following their series in Oakland.

Stewart and La Russa are good friends going back to the late ’80s when La Russa was his manager.

The White Sox are 9-3 in La Russa’s absence with bench coach Miguel Cairo at the helm while the Hall of Fame manager has been out. The team did not indicate a timetable for La Russa’s return to managing, but signs point to him resuming his duties in the near future.

The White Sox (72-68) finished play Saturday 1 games behind the Cleveland Guardians for first place in the AL Central.

“Just knowing he’s healthy is amazing. It’s always scary when health issues happen, and just glad to have him back,” said Andrew Vaughn, who got four hits as Chicago beat the A’s 10-2 on Saturday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.