Andy Pettitte Injury: Yankees’ Pitcher Out 6 Weeks With Broken Ankle

New York Yankees star left-hander Andy Pettitte is expected to miss at least six weeks after fracturing his ankle during his team’s 5-4 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Wednesday.

The NY Daily reports Pettitte’s injury came in in the fifth inning after the Yankees’ ace was struck on the left ankle by a hard-hit one-hopper off the bat of Cleveland’s Casey Kotchman.

Following the injury, Pettitte took few warmup pitches and was allowed to stay in the game, but manager Joe Girardi removed him when he came up limping after throwing one live pitch.

The Yankees said no surgery will be required, but Pettitte, 40, will be placed in a walking boot and forced to use crutches.

Earlier this year, Pettitte came out of retirement to join the Yankees and has been an excellent addition to the club’s rotation.

In two months, the three-time All-Star has pitched 58 innings with a 3.22 ERA and 3-3 record.

Pettitte’s injury is the second blow of the day for the Yankees pitching rotation.

Hours before Pettitte suffered his injury, New York placed CC Sabathia on the disabled list, thanks to a groin strain suffered this past weekend against the Mets.

In addition to Pettitte and Sabathia, the Yankees are also with out star reliever Mariano Rivera, who tore his ACL shagging balls in the outfield in May, and Joba Chamberlain, who suffered an open dislocation of his ankle jumping on a trampoline in March.

When asked how his team would respond to the obvious deficit in the pitching department, Girardi said:

“We have a pretty experienced club. We lost the greatest closer of all time, we were able to respond.”