Chris Sale sidelined three weeks with avulsion fracture of right foot

The news isn't ideal for the Chicago White Sox, but apparently they feared much worse when ace left-hander Chris Sale hobbled into their spring training complex on Saturday morning.

According to a team press release, Sale suffered an avulsion fracture of his right foot in an accident at his home in Arizona on Friday. Initial reports suggest the injury will keep him sidelined for three weeks, which all things considered is far from a worst case scenario, but will put him in a race against the clock to be ready for opening day.

General manager Rick Hahn indicated the injury occurred while Sale was unloading something off the back of his truck. Sale himself did not confirm or deny how it happened, but was apparently in good spirits while meeting the media.

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Despite missing five weeks last season with a flexor muscle strain in his left elbow, Sale finished third in the AL Cy Young voting after posting a dominant 2.17 ERA and a league best 10.8 strikeouts per nine innings. That shows how valuable Sale is, and how badly the White Sox will need him on the field if they hope to turn their aggressive offseason into a successful regular season.

Among the key players added was right-hander Jeff Samardzija. It's expected he'd draw the opening day assignment.  They also have Jose Quintana, who during his first three seasons has established himself as a top end starter. They can easily weather the storm with those two assuming Sale's timetable doesn't change, but if the injury were to linger then the White Sox could have some trouble filling out their rotation.

As it stands right now, they have Hector Noesi, John Danks, Scott Carroll, and Erik Johnson battling it out for two rotations spots. Noesi isn't a bad option for a fourth or fifth starter, but it's really not an inspiring group overall given the injury history of Danks and the lack of  experience of Carroll and Johnson. If they need to go three deep from that group for an extended period, it could put them in a difficult position.

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If it comes to that, the White Sox might be forced to consider Carlos Rodon, who was the third overall pick in the 2014 draft. Obviously, they'd prefer to give him more time to develop in the minor leagues, but most would agree that Rodon looked major league ready at the time of the draft. It's expected he'll force their hand this season anyway and likely debut before it's over.

Of course, the hope from everybody is that Sale will be ready to go, if not by opening day, then by the time Chicago needs a fifth starter on April 12. Until we hear different, that will be the assumption as well. But this is one of those eye-opening situations that develops every spring and reminds us of how quickly a player's season and a team's outlook can change.

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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813