NEWSLETTER
Yikes … if this is anything more than an abundance of caution, it’ll be a bit of a nightmare.
With runners on first and second in the bottom of the 8th inning tonight, Willson Contreras was hit by a pitch on his front (left) ankle. He quickly scrambled to first base like his hair was on fire (adrenaline is wild), but he was very clearly in pain.
Willson Contreras hit by a pitch in the bottom of the 8th inning. Was in some visible pain trotting down to 1B and during the pitching change, he sat on the ground as he was checked out by trainers.
Coming out of the game now with Ortega pinch-running.
— Tony Andracki (@TonyAndracki23) June 3, 2022
David Ross went out to check on him and Contreras was removed from the game. No news on the severity of the injury just yet (by my eye on replay it looked to be higher up the leg than the ankle bone, which could be good, but it’s obviously difficult to tell). Cross your fingers. I don’t need to tell you the importance Willson Contreras has to this team – not just for this season, but (one way or another) many more seasons to come.
More info coming when we have it.
UPDATE: Good news to start, as the X-Rays on Contreras’ ankle were negative.
X-rays on Willson Contreras’ left ankle are negative, Ross says. #Cubs
— Meghan Montemurro (@M_Montemurro) June 3, 2022
Update II: More good news. As I suspected, the ball hit Contreras above the ankle bone, where it’s a little more fleshy. He’ll sit out tomorrow – as previously planned – and expects to rejoin the team on Saturday for the double headers. Now as a word of caution, players do tend to be overly optimistic the night of an injury, before the swelling/pain sets in, so we’ll wait to high five until we get an update tomorrow. BUT ALSO this is as good as this could have gone so far.
Contreras: "Gladly, it hit me above the ankle. I have a bruised bone, but nothing major. I'm looking forward to getting back in the lineup not tomorrow, the next day. I was off tomorrow anyways."
— Maddie Lee (@maddie_m_lee) June 3, 2022
