The **Philadelphia Phillies** pulled **Aaron Nola** from Saturday night’s game against Toronto after a line drive caught him in the right knee, but the veteran right-hander says he’s planning to make his next start.
Nola was cruising through five solid innings when the comebacker found his leg in the sixth. He tried some warm-up tosses but couldn’t push off properly, forcing the Phillies to shut him down with what they’re calling a right knee contusion.
“Yeah, I hit my knee, my inside of my right knee, and then my ankle, my ankle is good, but it kind of was hurting when I pushed off of it on those warm-up throws,” Nola told reporters. “Hopefully, obviously, planning on making my next start and hope for a good week this week.”
“Hope for a good week this week and the [pain] subsides really quick.” Aaron Nola says he’s still planning to make his next start.
The timing’s not ideal for Philadelphia, who were looking to even their series with the Blue Jays after dropping Friday’s extra-inning opener. But Nola’s performance before the injury was actually encouraging – **eight strikeouts** against two earned runs over five innings represents one of his better outings since the All-Star break.
That’s been a real issue for the **33-year-old**. He hasn’t recorded a win since before the mid-Summer Classic and he’s posting a **4.50 ERA** in that stretch. The Phillies need their rotation cornerstone finding his form, not dealing with injury scares.
What makes this particularly interesting is the timing. Nola’s next scheduled start comes during the **Field of Dreams series** against Minnesota in Dyersville, Iowa – exactly the kind of marquee event where you want your ace healthy and ready.
The Phillies will monitor how Nola responds over the next few days. Knee contusions can be tricky – sometimes the pain subsides quickly, sometimes it lingers and affects mechanics. Given Nola’s recent struggles, they can’t afford to rush him back if he’s not 100%.
For now, it sounds like Nola’s confident he’ll be ready for start number **25** of the season. But the Phillies might want to have a backup plan ready, just in case that optimism doesn’t match the reality of how his knee feels come game time.
