Kyle Tucker's scary foul ball injury could've been death knell for Astros

The Houston Astros had themselves quite the eventful Monday to be sure. Not only were they able to come back and take down the Cardinals by the score of 7-4, but there was a host of news as well. The biggest, and probably saddest, bit was that Jose Urquidy may need season-ending surgery on his arm depending on the results of the second opinion he went in search of on Monday.

Making matters worse, the Astros' offense took a hit when Kyle Tucker fouled a ball off his shin during the game and had to leave after it looks like he was in severe pain.

Hearing the audio certainly didn't help Astros fans' concerns. Tucker has been the team's best player. If he goes down, the season is officially over. Even the most optimistic fans would admit that.

Obviously whenever a foul ball hits a guy hard enough for his groans and yells to get caught by the on-field mic, that is decidedly not great. Fortunately, the audio quality wasn't so good to catch what was probably some understandable NSFW language out of Tucker, and, more importantly, it does appear as though the Astros may have dodged the worst here.

Astros News: Kyle Tucker's X-rays come back negative in huge update

After the game, both Tucker and manager Joe Espada were quick to provide the news that Tucker just has a right shin contusion and X-rays came back negative for any fractures. Given how much pain Tucker was in, this was great news.

The bad news was that Tucker was using crutches to get around after the game because, well, his leg hurt a lot. Moreover, just because his injury is only a contusion doesn't necessarily mean that Tucker won't miss time or will avoid an IL stint. Much of that will be determined by how he feels and looks Tuesday morning. Still, all signs are pointing to any absence being relatively short compared to what would have happened if the X-rays revealed a more serious issue.

If Tucker does need to go on the injured list or at least need a little time off, that would seemingly open the door for Joey Loperfido's return. However, if the Astros would prefer to give Mauricio Dubon the extra playing time, especially if Tucker's potential absence is expected to be short, Loperfido may have to wait a bit longer for his next opportunity.

Nonetheless, the Astros' season lives to see another day with this update on Tucker. That was close.

More Astros News from Climbing Tal's Hill