Jacoby Ellsbury: Latest Updates on Red Sox Star's Shoulder Injury

Boston Red Sox center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury had to leave Friday's home opener against the Tampa Bay Rays with a painful injury.

Ellsbury's injury occurred when he tried to break up a double play sliding into second base. Rays shortstop Reid Brignac came down on Ellsbury's right arm and shoulder.

Check back here periodically for all the latest updates on Ellsbury's injury.

UPDATE: Thursday, June 28 at 6:52 p.m. ET by Austin Green

Ellsbury will begin his anticipated rehab stint Friday, according to Sean McAdam of Comcast Sports Net.

"

Ellsbury set to begin rehab assignment, will DH for Gulf Coast League Sox Friday. #RedSoxTalk

— Sean McAdam(@Sean_McAdam) June 28, 2012"

This is a promising development for the Red Sox, who are currently 6.5 games behind the New York Yankees in the AL East.

Ellsbury will be joining fellow Boston outfielder Carl Crawford in Florida, and will replace him as the designated hitter, allowing Crawford to do some work in the field.

Ellsbury's timetable for return is still uncertain, but we will have all the updates for you when they become available.

------------END OF UPDATE-------------------

UPDATE: Wednesday, April 18th at 6:15 p.m. EDT by Josh Martin

Never fear, Red Sox Nation! Jacoby Ellsbury will be back...at some point this season.

The All-Star center fielder spoke to the media on Wednesday for the first time since suffering a subluxation of his right shoulder late last week, telling all who would listen that a 2012 return is well within range:

"

"I’ll definitely be playing this year, hopefully sooner than later. Putting a lot of work in. Right now, we’re doing a lot of icing to get the swelling out. Once the swelling subsides, I can start getting exercises, that sort of thing, in the shoulder. As far as the timeline, we don’t have one right now. ... Everyone’s on the same page. I’m excited to get everything going and get back as soon as possible."

"

Ellsbury was fortunate to avoid surgery for his latest injury, though there's no timetable as of yet for his return.

UPDATE: Saturday, April 14, 1:46 p.m. ET by Nicholas Goss

According to MLB's official Twitter account, the Red Sox have put Jacoby Ellsbury on the 15-day disabled list with a shoulder injury.

"

BREAKING: @RedSox to place @JacobyEllsbury on 15-day DL with right shoulder injury.

— MLB (@MLB) April 14, 2012"

The young star is one of the team's most important players and his void in the lineup will be difficult to fill.

UPDATE: Saturday, April 14, 11:30 a.m. ET by Donald Wood

After leaving Friday’s game with a possible separation of his shoulder, Boston Red Sox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury is confirming that he indeed did separate his right shoulder.

The news and the lack of a timetable come directly from Ellsbury on his Twitter:

"

Thx for all the well wishes. Subluxed my right shoulder in yesterday's game. No timetable set, working hard to get back as soon as possible.

— Jacoby Ellsbury (@JacobyEllsbury) April 14, 2012"

The Boston Red Sox have started this season slow, but the most damning information is all the starters on the DL already. If the rest of the team doesn’t rally around each other now, Boston could be in a bad way by the time Ellsbury gets back to the lineup.

UPDATE: Saturday, April 14, 7:20 a.m. ET by Donald Wood

After a wild Friday that saw the Boston Red Sox lose one of their best outfielders Jacoby Ellsbury to injury, the bad news just keeps getting worse.

FOXSports is citing a report by the Boston Globe that defined just how long the Red Sox star could be out of the lineup:

"

Red Sox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury has at least partially dislocated his right shoulder and could miss between six and eight weeks, The Boston Globe reported, citing sources.

"

The Red Sox need Ellsbury in the lineup if they want to be contenders in the AL East all season, so the prolonged time missed is not a good sign. The team will have to rally around each other to make it through the next month or so without too much damage to their record.

Update: Friday, April 13 at 9:55 p.m. ET

Alex Speier of WEEI.com has it on good authority from a source that Ellsbury "likely suffered a dislocation or subluxation of his right shoulder."

Bottom line: that's an injury that needs six to eight weeks to heal.

Unless it doesn't respond to rest and rehab. If it doesn't, season-ending surgery would be needed.

Speier notes that Derek Jeter suffered a similar injury in 2003. That year, he was out for six weeks, and then returned to hit over .320.

Until further notice, there is hope for Ellsbury.

Update: Friday, April 13 at 9:05 p.m. ET

Still no diagnosis on Ellsbury's shoulder, but the buzz is less than positive.

Here's this from Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe:

"

From what I'm hearing the Jacoby Ellsbury injury to his right shoulder doesn't sound good.

— Nick Cafardo (@nickcafardo) April 14, 2012"

Sounds like the Red Sox are going to lose their leadoff man for quite a while.

Update: Friday, April 13 at 6:15 p.m. ET

There's still no diagnosis on Ellsbury's right shoulder, but Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com passed on a slightly good piece of news:

"

Word is, jacoby was feeling a bit better on way to hospital. Still no word on diagnosis yet tho. #ellsbury

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) April 13, 2012"

It's not much, but this is better than a report about Ellsbury being in significant pain on his way to the hospital.

Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald has also reported that Ellsbury had an MRI exam at Massachusetts General Hospital. No surprise there.

Update: Friday, April 13 at 4:05 p.m. ET

The Red Sox have made an official announcement regarding Ellsbury's injury, though they don't know the details just yet.

Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com has the scoop:

"

Sox offering scant details on Ellsbury, saying right shoulder inuury will be further evaluated

— Gordon Edes (@GordonEdes) April 13, 2012"

Typical stuff. The Red Sox likely won't know what's wrong with Ellsbury for a few more hours.

Update: Friday, April 13 at 4:00 p.m. ET

It's going to be a while before an official announcement is made on what kind of injury Ellsbury suffered, but the writers on the scene are tweeting up a storm about it.

Here's this from Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe:

"

No announcement on Ellsbury as of yet. Can only tell you that Brignac landed on his right shoulder and Ellsbury grabbed at it.

— Pete Abraham (@PeteAbe) April 13, 2012"

Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald saw pretty much the exact same thing:

"

Replay shows Brignac landing on Ellsbury's shoulder. Not good for #RedSox

— Scott Lauber (@ScottLauber) April 13, 2012"

So for now, it sounds like it's some sort of shoulder injury. Given the way Brignac landed on it, it's fair to speculate that Ellsbury may have dislocated it.

The bright side is that Ellsbury was able to walk off under his own power. He had his right arm pinned to his stomach.

The immediate fear is that Ellsbury, the 2011 AL MVP runner-up, may have to be out for an extended amount of time again. He missed nearly all of 2010 with various injuries.