Cubs' Alex Bregman Describes Gruesome Facial Injury, Says He's 'Super Lucky' It Wasn't Worse

Chicago Cubs third baseman Alex Bregman suffered multiple facial fractures on Sunday after being struck by a foul ball in the face.

On Wednesday, he spoke about his recovery.

"Pain's been fine, I guess I fractured something right by the nerve in my face," he told reporters. "So the left side of my face has been a little bit numb. As soon as the swelling goes down I'm sure I'll feel the breaks a little bit more. And that's kinda what started last night because the swelling's been going down, so kinda felt that a little bit more this morning when I woke up. But all in all, super lucky that it hit where it hit and just a lot of gratitude, because if it was about a few centimeters higher it could've been detrimental."

Bregman isn't going to injured reserve, however, and is still hoping to return to play as the Cubs fight for playoff positioning.

"Most of the significant bad things have been avoided," president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer told reporters Tuesday. "Now it's a matter of tolerance and healing."

"We'd like to protect it as much as we can," manager Craig Counsell said. "We have to explore what that looks like."

Bregman, 32, has hit .262 with 26 homers, 89 RBI, 89 runs and a .804 OPS in 153 games this season, his first with the Cubs.