What happened to Anthony Rizzo? All you need to know about Yankees star’s injury ahead of playoff

In the New York Yankees' 9-4 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates at Yankee Stadium on Saturday, first baseman Anthony Rizzo suffered an injury to his right hand when he was hit by a pitch from left-handed pitcher Ryan Borucki. Rizzo initially attempted to continue playing despite the injury, but he ultimately left the game in the eighth inning and was replaced by Oswaldo Cabrera.

Upon further examination, it was revealed that Rizzo sustained fractures to the fourth and fifth fingers of his right hand. It is not yet confirmed how long the injury will keep Rizzo out of action.

Players suffering injuries due to being hit by pitches is a growing issue. In July, LA Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts sustained a fracture to his left hand after being hit by a pitch, which led to the 31-year-old missing six to eight weeks of action.

Atlanta Braves second baseman Whit Merrifield also spoke about the severity of the issue, off the back of a forced exit against the Colorado Rockies on September 3, after he was hit in the head by reliever Jeff Chriswell.

Yankees skipper Aaron Boone speaks on Anthony Rizzo's injury

Speaking to YESNetwork after the Yankees' loss on Saturday, manager Aaron Boone talked about Anthony Rizzo's injury.

"He (Anthony Rizzo) has a fracture in his fingers. We’ll see what we have as the week moves forward. It doesn’t totally rule him out. It’s something that is a pain tolerance thing, so we’ll see as the days unfold here what we have," Boone said [0:00]

"He's come back [from his previous injury] and done a really good job for us. Obviously helped us anchor our defence, and I feel like he's been giving us really good at-bats too at the bottom of the order," Boone added [0:44]

This isn't the first time Anthony Rizzo has been on the IL this season. The 35 year old missed around two and a half months of the season after fracturing his arm against the Boston Red Sox in June.