Houston Astros star Justin Verlander says reports that he will miss the rest of the season with a forearm injury are untrue. The pitcher will only be held out for "a couple of weeks," according to Astros manager Dusty Baker
"The report that I’m currently missing the rest of the season is not accurate. There is a forearm strain... I’m hopeful that with some rest it will heal and I’ll be able to return soon. Thank you for all the well wishes."
"It's a forearm strain. He's shut down for a couple of weeks and we'll re-evaluate at that time," Baker said Sunday. "That's all I can tell you."
"It happened [Friday] early in the game, but he said he felt fine," Baker continued. "You see he was throwing the ball great ... so it was kind of a shock to all of us."
Verlander was last season's American League Cy Young Award winner and is a major part of the Astros rotation.
As for who will replace Verlander for the time being, Baker is still undecided: "We're looking into that. We know we're a little short, especially on veteran arms. We're still trying to decide who can help us."
[Via]