Chris Sale Injury: Boston Ace Says He’s Fine, Will Start Opening Day

Breathe easy, Boston Red Sox fans: Chris Sale says he is OK.

The ace left-hander exited in the first inning of Saturday’s spring training game against the Houston Astros after being hit on the hip by a line drive. Sale appeared to be favoring his knee after the play, but later was diagnosed with a left hip contusion.

Don’t expect him to miss his opening-day start against the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday, though. While addressing media in the clubhouse, Sale downplayed the injury and said he should be fine to toe the rubber at Tropicana Field.

“I don’t see anything lingering from this,” Sale said during NESN’s coverage of Red Sox-Astros. “Looks a lot worse than it actually was.”

That certainly is welcome news, especially on a day when Alex Cora announced starters Eduardo Rodriguez and Drew Pomeranz will start the season on the disabled list.

Sale eventually walked backed to the dugout and appeared fine — a far cry from how he looked while lying on the mound.

“When it first hit me, it hit me in the hip and kinda got a nerve,” Sale said. “So it shot all the way down my foot, and that’s what made me kinda worried … Got it evaluated, found nothing serious, just a bruise.

” … Shocked me more than anything — that initial blow was kind of a shooting (pain). Now that everything’s kinda quieted down, it’s just that one specific area that’s kinda bothering me.”

Given Sale’s slender frame, concerns over him being hit by a line drive are justified. Still, it appears this won’t be a long-term issue that he or the club have to worry about.

While Sale’s injury was the big news on the field, the Red Sox generated plenty of headlines off it as well.

The team inked catcher Christian Vazquez to a three-year extension, traded infielder Deven Marrero to the Arizona Diamondbacks and announced a handful of other roster moves.