Hughes to miss 6-8 weeks after fracturing femur

Minnesota Twins pitcher Phil Hughes will miss six-to-eight weeks after tests revealed a fractured femur, general manager Terry Ryan told reporters on Saturday.

The Twins reliever was helped off the field Thursday during the ninth inning against the Marlins after J.T. Realmuto's comebacker struck the right-hander around the knee and forced him from the game. On Friday, Minnesota placed the beleaguered veteran on the 15-day disabled list with what was initially described as a bruised knee.

''It was a very scary situation,'' Twins pitcher Ervin Santana said. ''I went back and saw him. It looked very bad.''

Hughes, who was demoted from the starting rotation at the end of May, has struggled mightily since his breakout 2014 campaign, his first season with the Twins after signing a five-year, $58-million contract. It was that year in which Hughes led the league in strikeout-to-walk rate and walks per nine after authoring a 3.52 ERA with 186 strikeouts over a career-high 209 2/3 innings.

Since then, the 29-year-old Hughes has been lousy, pitching to a 4.83 ERA across his last 39 appearances, including an unsightly 5.95 ERA mark this season with a 1.51 WHIP.

(Video courtesy: MLB.com)