PHILADELPHIA (AP) Phillies right-hander Aaron Nola said his return from the injured list with a sprained right ankle was progressing more slowly than expected and that he probably needed to make a minor league rehabilitation start.

“Taking a little bit longer than I thought it would,” Nola said ahead of Tuesday’s 2-0 win over Atlanta. “Since I’m here, I want to get it right to where I don’t really feel anything and to go 100%.”

Nola is 1-7 with a 6.16 ERA in nine starts.

The Phillies chose to put Nola on the 15-day injured list on May 16 to avoid another injury cropping up while he was favoring the ankle. The 31-year-old veteran allowed 12 hits, nine runs and three homers – all career highs – in a 14-7 loss on May 14 against St. Louis.

Nola, who signed a $172 million, seven-year contract ahead of the 2024 season, was injured on May 8 during pregame agility drills when the Phillies played Tampa Bay at Steinbrenner Field.

Nola said he tried to pitch through the injury over his last two starts.

“I thought it would be a good after a couple starts,” Nola said. “It would progress and kind of ease off on its own. But it didn’t really, so I’m on the IL.”

In 11 seasons with Philadelphia, Nola is 105-86 with a 3.78 ERA.

The Phillies led the NL East at 34-19 and had a nine-game winning streak snapped Sunday against the Athletics.

Nola is eligible to be activated on Friday. He will instead throw a bullpen session later this week and, if the ankle feels better, could head out to the minor leagues for a start. Nola did not throw a planned bullpen last Saturday because of soreness.

“Hopefully, Thursday it feels really good and I can get on the mound and throw a decent amount,” Nola said.

Nola was drafted seventh overall by Philadelphia in 2014 and has been one of the most durable pitchers since his 2015 big league debut. Aside from a 10-day stint on the COVID injury list in 2021, Nola hadn’t missed a start since 2017.

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