The Cleveland Guardians were not sure what to expect after Jose Ramirez suffered an apparent injury after fouling a ball off his leg against the Reds on Thursday. They certainly feared the worst.

Naturally, the perennial MVP candidate slapped an RBI base hit later in the at-bat. But Ramirez was removed from the game after the inning.

Guardians fans expected Ramirez to miss at least a couple of games at minimum following manager Terry Francona's update on his status.

“Hit above his pad, just below his knee. For him to react like that, pretty tough kid. He will get some X-Rays, but he’s sore.”

But Jose Ramirez, as Terry Francona stated, is tough. And Cleveland fans can breathe a sigh of relief with the Guardians' latest update, via Cleveland reporter Daryl Ruiter.

I would speculate that Ramirez talked his way into the lineup. The Guardians probably would have preferred to give him the day off. Or at least DH him. But J-Ram isn't one to to sit on the bench if he can avoid it.

Ramirez has been the backbone of the Guardians lineup once again in 2022. He is slashing .280/.377/.553 with an outstanding .930 OPS. He has also smashed 8 home runs and drove in 34 RBIs.

And this is undoubtedly good news for Cleveland fans. There is no way that Terry Francona would play Jose Ramirez if he displayed any signs of injury. So it appears as if the superstar third baseman avoided anything serious.

The Cleveland Guardians play the Detroit Tigers on Friday night at Progressive Field in Cleveland with Ramirez in the starting lineup.