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Yankees hopeful Sanchez, Encarnacion will return this season

Duane Burleson / Getty Images Sport / Getty

The New York Yankees received what appears to be relatively good news about their latest injured players.

All-Star catcher Gary Sanchez, who left the nightcap of Thursday's doubleheader in Detroit due to left groin tightness, is dealing with a strained groin, manager Aaron Boone said Friday, according to James Wagner of the New York Times.

"(We're) hopeful we'll get him back by the end of the season," Boone said of Sanchez, according to ESPN's Marly Rivera.

Boone described this groin strain as similar to the one that sidelined Sanchez for 16 games earlier in the summer, but in "a slightly different spot," according to Rivera.

Designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion, who was also hurt during Thursday's double-dip, has been diagnosed with a mild internal oblique strain.

While his oblique strain is considered to be minor, there's no guarantee that the 36-year-old veteran will be able to return, according to Newsday's Erik Boland.

Boone was unable to express a firm timetable for either player's rehab or potential return, instead emphasizing that it will depend on how they progress this weekend.

"The next several days can be a determining factor ... but we'll just have to see how they respond (to treatment)," Boone said, according to Rivera.

J.A. Happ, meanwhile, has received anti-inflammatories to help his biceps tendinitis, according to Rivera. The veteran southpaw, who had been pitching through the issue before leaving his start early Thursday, will be ready to pitch again when the team returns home next week.

Although these recent ailments have added to the Yankees' season-long injury woes at an inopportune time, Boone was able to deliver one bit of unequivocally good news Friday.

Left-hander Jordan Montgomery, who's missed the entire season while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, is expected to make his season debut Sunday in Toronto, according to Wagner. Montgomery made a pair of minor-league rehab appearances last month, and didn't allow a run in 3 2/3 innings.

The Yankees have placed a major-league record 30 players on the injured list this season.

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