Lonnie Chisenhall Of Cleveland Indians Breaks Nasal Bone

Jul 8, 2011, 16:14 by Sarah Long

The Cleveland Indians' Lonnie Chisenhall broke a nasal bone on the right side of his face when he was hit by a 90mph fastball Thursday night, ESPN reports.

The injury occurred when Toronto's Carlos Villanueva's inside pitch in the second inning smashed off the right ear flap on Chisenhall's batting helmet, ricocheting the ball off and hitting the third baseman near his nose, according to ESPN.

Chisenhall visited the Cleveland Clinic where an ear, nose and throat specialist confirmed a "non-displaced maxillary sinus fracture," Indians trainer Lonnie Soloff told ESPN.

"He looks like he's gone a couple rounds with Mike Tyson," Soloff said. "Otherwise he feels fine, which is a good thing."

Indians manager Manny Acta was relieved that the injury was not more serious.

"When I saw blood coming out of his nose and a scratch on his cheekbone where the ball hit the flap, I was worried," Acta said, as reported by ESPN. "I was thinking there was some kind of fracture and that is always dangerous. I'm very relieved there is no concussion because the kid just had one. But when I went out there, I could see that he knew what was going on and that wasn't a problem."

Although the injury looks substantial, ESPN reports he will only miss a few games.

"As soon as the inflammation around his eye resolves, he'll be ready to play again," Soloff said. "If he's not available in the next three days than he will be after All-Star break."