June 27 (UPI) -- Cleveland Indians outfielder Josh Naylor sustained a gruesome leg injury after being involved in a scary collision during Sunday's game against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field.
Naylor suffered the major injury in the fourth inning when Twins batter Jorge Polanco checked his swing and made contact, sending a fly ball into shallow right field.
Indians second baseman Ernie Clement turned and raced into the outfield while Naylor galloped to make the catch, putting both players on a collision course as they chased the popup. Naylor was sent into a spiral after the collision and landed awkwardly on his right foot, causing it to twist the wrong way.
Teammates immediately signaled for medical attention as Naylor writhed on the field in agony. He was transported off the field on a stretcher with his right foot in an air cast.
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"We know that there is a fracture. Other than that, he's being evaluated over at the hospital right now," Indians manager Terry Francona told reporters. "We'll know more, I hope, in a couple of hours.
"... It's hard. You saw the way he reacted. It's hard to not react to that. Everybody's certainly thinking about him. I was worried about Ernie, too, because Ernie had a pretty good cut on his chin."
Francona noted that a lapse in communication between Clement and Naylor likely caused the hard collision.
"On the replay, Naylor, I think, was going to catch it right about shoulder height. So he's got to call it," Francona said. "The second baseman, he's going until he hears something. So there's got to be some communication there and I don't believe there was."
Play resumed after a 12-minute delay, with the Twins going on to beat the Indians 8-2.
