Blue Jays Manager Provides Shockingly Optimistic George Springer Injury Update

After grabbing his side following a foul ball and immediately leaving the game in the middle of an at-bat, most immediately assumed an oblique issue, which almost always ends with a stint on the injured list and would prevent Springer from swinging for the remainder of the series.

During his interview in the middle of the fourth inning on Tuesday with Fox however, Blue Jays manager John Schneider painted a much more optimistic picture on his belief that Springer could be back in Toronto's lineup.

Blue Jays Could Get Springer Back for Game 5, Schneider Says

"I think so," Schneider said when asked if Springer could be back at any point this series. "He was able to swing a little bit this afternoon and is kind of progressively feeling a little bit better as the day goes on. We’ll see how the rest of this game goes. If not [in Game 4], hopefully [in Game 5], he should be good to go."

Springer had obviously already been serving as the team's primary designated hitter, so fielding is not a factor here, but if it is indeed an oblique, it's the kind of injury where position is irrelevant and hitting would be the primary issue.

Schneider was fairly secretive, however, not revealing any sort of results of the MRI Springer already had and stopping short of even saying it's an oblique issue.

Is a Springer Return Actually a Realistic Hope?

Wednesday night's lineups obviously should provide a real answer to the question, but given how quickly Springer was removed from the game and immediately grabbed his side, it does not feel all that likely he'll be able to go, let alone be effective once in the game.

This is the World Series though, and players are willing to put it all on the line in order to bring a championship home. Given the stakes, it would not be a shock to see Springer at the very least attempt to play, or potentially pinch-hit later in games.

How Toronto handles this could go a long way towards determining whether or not they pull off the upset against the Dodgers, or if their hopes are absolutely crushed right at the finish line.

Either way, the Blue Jays have earned themselves a best-of-three series for all the marbles, and Springer is clearly desperate to be a part of it.