LAKELAND, Fla. - The Detroit Tigers confirmed a sidelining injury in outfielder Riley Greene after he fouled a pitch off his foot in Friday's pre-season game against the New York Yankees.
Radiograph images showed the 21-year-old prospect suffered a facture to the bottom portion of his right foot when he fouled off a 97-mph fastball from Yankee's pitcher Gerrit Cole, Tigers manager AJ Hinch announced on Saturday via The Detroit News.
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“It’s a non-displaced fracture in his foot and he’s going to be late to the season,” Hinch said. “The films initially came back (showing) the fracture and we had it evaluated by Dr. Robert Anderson, who is an expert foot doctor. He confirmed the diagnosis.”
Greene is out indefinitely and will miss next week's Opening Day in Detroit.
Hinch said the injury will not require surgery at this time and doctors have outfitted Green with a protective boot.
"A timeline at this point would be unnecessary," Hinch said when asked when Greene might return to the field. "He will get it reviewed again in a few weeks and get a further diagnosis.”
In a non-displaced fracture, the bone will crack in one spot, but tends not to break all the way through and stays in alignment; typical recovery time can take anywhere from six to eight weeks.
Greene's injury comes at a critical time in his baseball career; the team's No. 2 prospect was on target to make his Major League debut in center field on April 8.
"I feel for him," Hinch said. "He was having a great spring. He was trending in the right direction, super energetic, great kid, great attitude. He took the news as positively as he could. I'm truly disappointed for him and for our organization."
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