Cubs prospect Ed Howard suffers ‘freak' hip injury

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Cubs shortstop prospect Ed Howard is scheduled to be examined by doctors in Chicago Friday, at which point the Cubs expect to learn whether the 2020 first-round draft pick faces the possibility of missing the rest of the season because of a left hip injury.

“It was just a freak accident,” Cubs farm director Jared Banner said of the awkward step across the bag Howard took trying to avoid a tag on a bad throw to first base Tuesday night for Single-A South Bend.

“We’ll know more after [Friday],” Banner said. “It’s way too premature to give any timetable or what the rehab’s going to look like. … He won’t be back in the coming week or anything like that.”

Howard, the No. 16 overall pick in 2020 from Mount Carmel High, is just 23 games into his second professional season after the 2020 season was wiped out by the pandemic.

After a slow start, he was 16-for-50 (.320) in his last 14 games with five walks and an .832 OPS.

Howard was hurt when he stretched for the bag with his right leg while twisting away from the tag to the left, then fell awkwardly past the base, in visible pain.

“It’s always tough to see any of our guys get hurt, especially when they’re in pain like he was the other night,” Banner said. “But we’re hopeful he’ll come back better than ever at some point.”

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