Aaron Nola shut down from throwing for two weeks due to stress reaction in rib

Phillies starting pitcher Aaron Nola will be shut down from throwing for two weeks due to a stress reaction in his right rib, manager Rob Thomson said before Tuesday's game against the Chicago Cubs.

"I don't have a date of return, but I know he's not going to throw – he's not even going to play catch – for two weeks," Thomson said.

Nola, who turned 32 years old last week, has been on the injured list for nearly a month due to a right ankle sprain. But his recovery from the ankle ailment was impeded by what was initially described as mild soreness in his right side. The source of that soreness is now clear, and it is far more serious than the team seemed to anticipate initially.

Thomson acknowledged that the situation has been "very" frustrating for Nola, who has been baseball's most durable starter for the better part of a decade. Everything that could go wrong has gone wrong for the longest-tenured player on the Phillies as Nola also had a dreadful nine starts before going on the shelf.

Nola called it the worst start to a season in his career at one point, and the 1-7 record, 6.16 ERA and 1.51 WHIP he posted during those nine starts all back it up. The road ahead is now even longer for Nola as he works to get back on the mound.

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