The Cleveland Guardians will be without manager Terry Francona as they take on the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday.

According to the latest reports, Francona had to be ruled out for the contest due to an illness. The Guardians manager is now set to undergo some testing in a local hospital to determine the cause of the issue.

“Cleveland Guardians manager Terry Francona is not managing tonight after not feeling well before the game. He will undergo precautionary testing at a local hospital in Kansas City,”  Jeff Passan of ESPN reports.

In his absence, bench coach DeMarlo Hale is taking over the managing duties from Francona.

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Terry Francona's condition is definitely concerning, especially since it came out of nowhere. Hopefully, however, it's nothing serious and that he'll be able to return to managing the Guardians sooner rather than later.

The Guardians are currently second in the AL Central with a 37-40 win-loss record, only behind the Minnesota Twins who are at 40-40. The showdown with the Royals is the perfect opportunity for them to cut down Minnesota's lead, especially with Kansas City at the bottom of the American League table with a 22-56 record.

Cleveland could really use some wins after they lost their series to the Milwaukee Brewers, 2-1. They were actually on a four-game winning streak before the Brewers series, so hopes are high they can get back to their winning ways against the Royals.

It remains to be seen how Francona's absence will impact their performance on Tuesday, though Hale and the rest of the Guardians will surely want to avoid losing back-to-back games.