Astros misdiagnosing injuries has become troubling pattern after latest update

When something out of the ordinary happens once, you can chalk it up to being a coincidence. But when something similar happens a second time, you're bound to raise a few eyebrows. That's exactly where the Houston Astros find themselves after their most recent injury update.

Ben Gamel was placed on the injured list earlier this week after crashing into the outfield wall. The Astros intially referred to Gamel's injury as a left knee contusion. However, it's now being called a left fibula fracture. How do you go from a bruised knee to a broken leg in 24 hours?

Ben Gamel's diagnosis is eerily similar to another Astros outfielder

Perhaps the same way one might go from a deep bruise of the bone to a fractured shin. You remember that, right Astros fans? How could you forget? Houston outfielder Kyle Tucker landed on the IL earlier this season with what was termed at the time to be a left shin contusion. But it wasn't that at all. It took nearly three months for the Astros to admit that Tucker suffered a fractured shin. What is going on in the Astros' training room?

Now, to be fair to the Astros and their medical staff, this isn't just a Houston issue. Nor is it exceedingly uncommon. Sometimes, with injuries that involve in-depth imaging, it may take time for the swelling to go down before a true diagnosis can be made. That may very well been what happened in regard to Gamel. But when it comes to Tucker, the team flat-out kept it a secret.

According to Chandler Rome of The Athletic, when Astros GM Dana Brown was aasked point-blank about Tucker's fractured shin, he denied it. But two days later, the Astros' top decision-maker relented and admitted the truth.

Should the Astros be punished by Major League Baseball for essentially failing to disclose the extent of Tucker's injury or misdiagnosing Gamel initially? Unless there's an actual MLB rule that Houston violated, don't expect any discipline to be handed down from the Commissioner's office.

Still, it's rather odd that such an occurrence has now happened twice within such a short time span. Astros fans are hopeful the latest injury to Gamel is the last one they're going to see this season.

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