Washington Nationals star Ryan Zimmerman has reportedly been placed on the disabled list following a hamstring injury he sustained last weekend.

The Washington Times’ Amanda Comak reports:

The third baseman reportedly sustained the injury against the Atlanta Braves last weekend, then aggravated it even further when playing against the Miami Marlins on Wednesday—despite playing with a heating pad affixed to his leg.

After some pregame running and throwing under the watch of a trainer on Friday, Zimmerman was again rested by the Nationals, who scheduled him to play this weekend against the New York Mets.

However, instead of playing, the All-Star was again left out of the lineup by Nationals management and then sent to have an MRI scan on his hamstring.

The Nationals have already recalled Anthony Rendon from the Harrisburg Senators—AA Eastern League Affiliates of the Washington Nationals—as a replacement for Zimmerman, according to the Nationals’ official Twitter account. For a player who has landed on the disabled list four times in the past five years due to various injuries, this can’t be a good sign.

And whilst no information is yet known as to the severity of the injury or how long he will be on the disabled list for, the news doesn’t appear to be promising for Zimmerman.

Manager Davey Johnson commented earlier in the week regarding the injury.

“It’s something I don’t want to take a chance on getting worse. All games are important, but to take the chance of setting him back and missing double the time? I’m not willing to take that gamble…”

Zimmerman is currently averaging .226 with one home run and 11 RBI in his 15 games this season for Washington. The Nationals are currently second (10-7) in the NL East behind the Atlanta Braves (13-3) and hope that their star can return as soon as possible.

 

Hit me up on Twitter for more sports goodness.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com