The Aaron Nola injury saga continues. The Philadelphia Phillies veteran right-hander has already been out of action since mid-May. After some uncertainty about his timeline, Nola himself has finally clarified how long he expects to be out.

What was originally supposed to be a minimum 15-day stay on the injured list with a sprained ankle has turned into a seemingly never-ending ordeal that will see Nola miss even more time than anyone first thought after he developed a mysterious rib injury.

It all started with his ankle taking longer than first thought to improve, per Phillies Nation’s Ty Daubert, and moved into a delay due to a side stiffness. First described by the team as a stress reaction on his right side, Nola had to be the one to tell us that it was actually a rib stress fracture, according to MLB.com’s Paul Casella. A stress fracture is definitely worse than a stress reaction.

Phillies’ Aaron Nola reveals rib injury will keep him sidelined for two months

Now a month removed from Nola hitting the IL, the 32-year-old appeared on the Phightin’ Words podcast and revealed that he expects to be out for two months.

“I’m very blessed it’s not a big injury, it’s something small,” Nola said after On Pattison’s Anthony SanFilippo asked if he would pitch again this season. “Probably two months-ish or so I’ll be out, which is a long time, but it’s better than a big injury. I’m very grateful it’s not bad.”

We can only assume he means two more months from this point. That would put him on track for a mid-August return. That would, interestingly, coincide with suspended reliever José Alvarado’s return. So the Phillies could be getting two big pieces back for the stretch drive to the playoffs.

Nola struggled massively to begin the season, and despite a couple of strong outings before the ankle injury, still sits with a 1-7 record in nine starts. When he returns, he’ll come back to a 6.16 ERA and 1.51 WHIP, with 9.42 K/9 and 2.90 BB/9.

While Nola is on the shelf, expect rookie Mick Abel to continue pitching in the rotation. The Phillies will be hoping that their No. 8 prospect can bounce back from a tough game his last time out. The 23-year-old got off to a strong start to his MLB career, with a couple of impressive outings against the Pittsburgh Pirates and Toronto Blue Jays. He battled command issues in his last start against the Chicago Cubs, walking three and allowing three solo home runs to a tough lineup.

Abel lines up to start Monday night to open the Phillies’ four-game road series against the Miami Marlins.