The Nationals place Stone Garrett on the IL with a fractured fibula

The Washington Nationals placed Stone Garrett on the 10-day injured list Thursday, one day after the tough defenseman broke his leg while trying to steal a home run.

Garrett suffered the injury during the seventh inning of Wednesday’s loss to the Yankees when he made a jumper off the right field wall to steal from New York’s DJ LeMahieu.

The national team did not say how long Jarrett would be out of action but announced on Thursday that he suffered a fractured fibula in his left. Citizens director Dave Martinez said Garrett was meeting with lead physician Robert Najarian and running more tests, including an MRI, to determine if there was any other damage.

“He will be out for a while,” Martinez said Thursday. He added, “We wish him a speedy recovery, and we hope that his leg will heal, and he will be ready to play with us in the future.”

In a similar move, Washington called up Jet Downs from Triple-A Rochester ahead of Thursday’s series finale at Yankee Stadium.

Garrett jumped the wall and appeared to catch a spike off his left cleat in the wall fill when the ball went over the short right field balcony at Yankee Stadium. He was on his back for six minutes as coaches from both teams attached an air cast and his national teammates gathered.

“You never want to see anyone get hurt,” Martinez said Wednesday after losing Washington 9-1. “When it fell this way, my heart fell.”

Garrett was helped to his feet and transferred to a trolley, and then taken off the field to a standing ovation.

“I think it’s tough,” said Washington linebacker Lynn Thomas, who switched from center field to right field when Jarrett was out. “Just a little emotion for him. Seeing someone have this happen to him isn’t fun either.”

Garrett, 27, is hitting .269 with nine home runs and 40 RBIs in 89 games this season, his first with the Nationals. He’s been particularly productive against left-handed pitchers, striking out seven homers with a . 839 OPS in 122 at bats against the Southerners, and has been hotting up lately with a . 378 batting average over his last 11 games.

“His hitting was good, but he was playing really well in defense,” Martinez said. “It sucks for us because he’s one of our players who’s having a really good year.”

Martínez also praised Garrett as the club’s captain and fan favourite.

“It means a lot to us,” Martinez said. “He’s got that presence in himself. He’s very soft spoken, but he’s one of those guys who likes to have fun and keep everyone at ease. A great teammate.”

Jarrett made his minor league debut in 2014 and played in Australia and Mexico before making his major league debut with the Diamondbacks on August 17 of last year. 276 with four homers and 10 RBIs in 27 games for the Diamondbacks, he was elected to become a free agent and signed with the Nationals.

“He’s a guy who’s worked his way up to the big leagues,” Martinez said. “I’m always partial to those people who have made an effort, worked hard to be who he is now, really trying to be better. I challenged him early on to be a better player. He did. I challenged him to put the ball into play more. He did that and did more. From running. Whatever I asked him to do, he did his best to try to do it.”

Information from The Associated Press and Reuters is used in this report.