Chris Sale and the Red Sox can breathe a sigh of relief as the left-hander received encouraging news regarding his elbow injury on Monday.
After getting a second opinion from Dr. James Andrews, it was confirmed Sale has elbow inflammation but will not need Tommy John surgery, per ESPN's Jeff Passan.
In their official statement on the matter, the Red Sox said Sale received a platelet-rich plasma injection and will be re-evaluated in six weeks.
Although a return to the mound in 2019 doesn't appear likely for Sale, this is phenomenal news for the Red Sox considering they signed their ace to a five-year, $145 million contract extension before the season.
Sale is in the midst of the worst statistical season of his career, posting a 6-11 record and 4.40 ERA in 25 starts. Still, it'll be even tougher for Boston to sneak into the postseason without Sale in the rotation as it currently sits 6.5 games behind in the American League wild-card race.
Click here to download the new MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of your teams and stream the Celtics easily on your device.