White Sox's Luis Robert Jr. exits with right hip flexor injury

White Sox center fielder Luis Robert Jr. left Chicago's 2-1 loss to the host Kansas City Royals on Friday night in the ninth inning with a strained right hip flexor, manager Pedro Grifol said after the game.

Grifol said he would not have information about the extent of the injury until Robert has additional tests done on Saturday morning. Robert had a torn right hip flexor in 2021 and missed about half of that season.

Robert, who is in his fifth season with the White Sox, hit a ninth-inning double to left field with one out and nobody on base. He appeared to sustain the injury as he rounded first base and limped noticeably going into second base.

Braden Shewmake pinch-ran for Robert, who represented the tying run, and Kevin Pillar followed with a walk against pitcher Will Smith. However, James McArthur came on to get Andrew Vaughn to ground into a game-ending double play.

Robert finished the game 1-for-4. He is coming off his first All-Star season, when he hit 38 home runs, drove in 80 runs and stole 20 bases.

In 2020, Robert signed a six-year, $50 million contract. The team has options for the 2026 and 2027 seasons, which would raise the value of the deal to $88 million.

--Field Level Media