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San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado could be headed to the injured list because of a small fracture in his left hand, but there is a chance he could remain on the active roster, manager Bob Melvin said Wednesday.

Machado was hit on the hand by a pitch from Kansas City’s Brad Keller on Monday night. He briefly remained in the game before leaving, and Machado did not play in games Tuesday and Wednesday — both home losses to the Royals.

“So the initial X-ray didn’t show anything,” Melvin said Wednesday. “He had a CT scan and an MRI yesterday that showed a small fracture on the metacarpal. We don’t think it’s an IL situation, but we’re going to probably go through the off day (on Thursday), see how he feels and see where we are on the weekend.”

The Padres return to action for a three-series against the visiting Boston Red Sox starting Friday.

“I’m not sure how my body’s going to heal,” Machado said, “so just take it day by day, see what it is, hopefully come back after this off day and it’s a lot better.”

Machado and Melvin are hoping the star third baseman, who hasn’t been on the IL since 2014, keeps that streak alive.

“Swelling’s gone down tremendously,” Machado said Wednesday. “We definitely have more range of motion today.”

Machado is batting .231 with seven doubles, five home runs and 19 RBIs in 40 games. He has a .282 on-base percentage and a .372 slugging percentage.

–Field Level Media