Nationals 3B Anthony Rendon has mild MCL sprain

Nationals 3B Anthony Rendon has a mild MCL sprain, should return in one week.

Washington Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon has a mild sprain of the medial collateral ligament in his left knee and will miss a few days of action, the team announced.

Rendon was injured after diving for a ground ball in the top of the sixth inning of a game against the Atlanta Braves on Monday. He did not play in the other three spring training games this week.

“It’s mild,” Nationals manager Matt Williams said, according to the Washington Times. “It wasn’t getting better as quickly as we thought it would and he wanted it to be. We got an [X-ray] of it yesterday. So, it’s a mild sprain. We’ll shut him down for a few days. Make sure that it’s good.”

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Williams called the injury “odd” and that he expects Rendon to be playing in about a week.

“There’s no issue with strength, it’s not loose,” Williams said. “It’s a very mild sprain, but we just want to be cautious with it and that when he gets back out there, he doesn’t feel pain.”

Rendon hit .287 with 21 home runs and 83 RBI in 153 games last season for Washington.

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