Indians: The injury to Josh Naylor is another blow to the Tribe (Video)

The Indians could be without Josh Naylor for some time.

The 2021 Cleveland Indians have had a season full of luck, and it’s all been bad. Plagued by injuries all year, the Tribe lost Franmil Reyes, Shane Bieber, Aaron Civale, Zach Plesac, Roberto Perez,  and a few others throughout the year. The team has been able to put together a patchwork team that has kept them going but they now have to overcome yet another massive loss in that of Josh Naylor.

Naylor‘s season is unofficially over. His lower leg, possibly his ankle, snapped in two. It was a pretty obvious break, the kind you’ve seen with guys like Gordon Hayward. It’s obviously speculation at this point, but when you see a part of the human body flopping around that doesn’t normally flop around, you can put two and two together.

Warning: Video is graphic in nature.

A routine play and miscommunication caused Josh Naylor to get injured.

Ernie Clement came out trying to catch a pop-fly to shallow right field. Naylor came in on the same play. The two men collided in a relatively innocuous collision. The problem came not from the collision but from how Naylor landed. He twisted and came straight down on his ankle and it caused a severe break in his lower leg.

The announcers from the Indians could be heard reacting to the break, and instantly everyone knew the injury was extremely severe.

The Indians shouldn’t expect Naylor to be back this year, and if he is, it’d be as close to a miracle as one can get. CBS spoke to a doctor about Gordon Hayward‘s ankle injury and there was speculation that he could recover in 12-weeks but Hayward ended up missing the rest of the season. This isn’t to say Naylor could only be out 12-weeks, as we don’t know. It’s merely a time frame to better understand the severity of the injury.

The severity and amount of rehab needed will determine how long Naylor is out but if you’re a fan of his, don’t hold your breath on him returning in 2021.