Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Aaron Nola suffered another setback in his return to pitch when an MRI showed he has an injury in his right ribcage and will be shut down for two weeks.
Nola had already been out since early May with a sprained right ankle that was progressing more slowly than expected. He experienced stiffness in his right side last week in Toronto and that wiped out a planned session against live batters.
Nola underwent testing this week and had what the Phillies called a stress reaction in his right ribcage. Phillies manager Rob Thomson said ahead of Tuesday’s game against the Chicago Cubs that Nola was unsure how the injury may have happened.
Nola is 1-7 with a 6.16 ERA in nine starts. Nola, who signed a $172 million, seven-year contract ahead of the 2024 season, injured his ankle on May 8 during pregame agility drills when the Phillies played the Tampa Bay Rays at Steinbrenner Field.
Nola is 105-86 with a 3.78 ERA in 11 seasons with the Phillies.
Thomson said slugger Bryce Harper was starting to feel better as he recovers from right wrist inflammation that last Friday landed him on the 10-day injured list.
The two-time National League MVP and eight-time All-Star is hitting .258 with nine home runs, 34 RBIs and eight stolen bases in 57 games. He missed five games, from May 26 to June 2, with a bruised right elbow after being hit by a pitch from Atlanta’s Spencer Strider.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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