Bryce Harper makes rehab start Tuesday for Phillies with Lehigh Valley IronPigs – NBC10 Philadelphia

Bryce Harper’s rehab assignment starts tomorrow – how long will it last? originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Bryce Harper will make his long-awaited rehab start Tuesday night with Triple A Lehigh Valley, just under two months after his left thumb was broken in San Diego.

According to Rob Thomson, Harper plans to play for the IronPigs Tuesday through Saturday — five games — before taking Sunday off. He will DH at Lehigh Valley and will DH when he returns to the Phillies lineup because he is still dealing with a small UCL tear in his pitching arm.

Harper won’t be back with the Phillies this week, but Thomson said Monday in Arizona is a possibility.

“It’s in the game,” the Phils skipper said.

Harper has been out since being hit on the thumb by Blake Snell on June 25. Since then, the Phillies have gone 48 games and gone 28-20, keeping their spot in the National League.

Harper said Sunday that his fitness level was between 85 and 90 percent and he felt he could get back to 100 percent during the rehab assignment. His goal is to stay in the lineup upon his return.

“I don’t want to go back and take days off,” he said. “Once I get back on the big league field, I want to go in and keep playing.”

If Harper returns to Arizona on Monday, he will miss just over nine weeks, and the Phillies could have him for 34 more regular-season games.

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