"I couldn't find a way to push off my toe" - Clayton Kershaw addresses 'frustrating' injury concern after early exit in Dodgers win

Veteran Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw had a tough outing against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday. Kershaw made a premature exit in the second inning of the game against the division rivals after a reported toe issue.

Kershaw, who made a late start to the season after undergoing shoulder surgery last November, was taken out of the game after a labored two-run first inning and conceding a solo homer to Corbin Carroll in the second.

Following the game, Kershaw addressed the pain in his big toe:

"Yes just couldn't really push off. It's frustrating when everything else has been feeling right but no matter what I did I couldn't really find a comfortable way to push off my toe."

The Dodgers recovered from the early setback in the game with the bullpen holding their own for much of the game after Kershaw's exit.

However, they faced a scare in the ninth when reliever Anthony Banda surrendered four runs as the Diamondbacks came within one run of tying the scores. But they were able to hang on for the 10-9 win.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts concerned over Clayton Kershaw's setback

The Dodgers have been hit with several injury concerns to their rotation this season and Clayton Kershaw's latest setback could be another major blow for Dave Roberts' team.

“It’s a bone spur. It’s obviously not good. There’s swelling, there’s pain. He’s doing everything he can to kind of get through things. Some starts it feels fine, and it’s not impeding,” Roberts said.

“Today obviously it was [impeding]. He had no legs today. Then you start worrying about how it could affect his arm. There was no other alternative but to take him out in the second inning.”

Dodgers starters Tyler Glasnow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto are recovering from their injuries while Tony Gonsolin, River Ryan and Dustin May are out for the rest of the season.

Clayton Kershaw's injury puts added pressure on the likes of Gavin Stone, Jack Flaherty, and Walker Buehler, who only returned this season after missing nearly two years of action.

Justin Wrobleski, who made his MLB debut for the Dodgers last month, is likely to take the mound in Kershaw's absence with Yamamoto likely to make his return in mid-September.