Houston Astros star Yordan Alvarez may be headed for another lengthy stint on the sidelines.
The All-Star outfielder twisted his ankle in gruesome fashion while stepping on home plate during the first inning of the Astros’ Monday game against the Texas Rangers. Alvarez came up hobbling after the incident and was taken out of the game (video here).
Astros manager Joe Espada spoke to reporters Tuesday before his team’s rematch against the Rangers. He noted that Alvarez is expected to be “out for a while” and referred to the injury as “significant,” per The Athletic’s Chandler Rome.
“Let’s not get into days or weeks or anything like that,” Espada said when asked about Alvarez’s timeline for return. “We are going to take one day at a time, but this is going to take some time to heal. We don’t have that many days left in the regular season. He’s in there getting some treatment, getting some work done. Hopefully, he’s not out for a long period of time.”
Alvarez will have minimal runway to return before the end of the regular season. The Astros have just 10 games left on their schedule following Tuesday’s contest.
Alvarez is only a few weeks back from a hand injury that forced him to miss 100 games from May to August. With injuries hampering his seventh season, Alvarez has seen his production dip to a still-respectable .273 batting average with a .797 OPS.
