Braves infielder Chris Johnson does have a broken bone in his left hand but he didn’t suffer that injury during Thursday’s game against the Reds.
An X-ray revealed the fracture after the game but an MRI on Friday showed that was an old injury. Johnson did suffer three bone bruises around the fracture and will miss 3-6 weeks.
Johnson will wear a hard splint around the clock for at least the next week and will have the injury evaluated again in two weeks. He hopes to play again soon after he’s eligible to return from the 15-day disabled list.
Johnson said he doesn’t recall when he suffered the fracture. He had a sore wrist during spring training but otherwise said he never had an issue with the hand until jamming it while sliding into second base on Thursday.
“The fracture is old from some time before and that’s what they saw in the X-rays last night,” he said. “I’ve had that for a while. Bone bruises all around it is what is causing all the pain.”
Johnson has been sharing time at third base with Alberto Callapso. Johnson has made nine starts at third and Callaspo made his 11th start there on Friday against the Reds.
Johnson suffered the latest injury while being thrown out trying to steal second base in the fourth inning. He played his position in fifth inning and Callaspo replaced him in the sixth.
It was Johnson’s 21st steal attempt in 659 career games.
“That’s the problem,” Johnson joked. “I had my Mike Trout cleats on last night. That didn’t go so well.”
