A rib injury could keep the Phillies’ Aaron Nola out until after the All-Star break

Don’t count on seeing Aaron Nola on the mound until after the All-Star break.

Nola was diagnosed with a stress reaction in his right rib cage, the Phillies announced Tuesday after getting the results of an MRI exam. Nola won’t throw — or even play catch — for at least two weeks, according to manager Rob Thomson.

“It’s very [frustrating] for him because you know he’s a competitor,” Thomson said. “He wants to play. He wants to pitch. He wants to help us win.”

» READ MORE: Has Jesús Luzardo been tipping his pitches? He and the Phillies think so.

Even if Nola initiates a throwing program by the last week of June, he will have to go through the usual progression — bullpen sessions, facing hitters in live batting practice, and a minor league assignment — before rejoining the Phillies’ rotation.

The diagnosis continues a rare — and bizarre — health saga for Nola, as durable as any starter in baseball for the last seven seasons.

Last month, Nola went on the injured list for the first time since 2017 with a sprained right ankle that took longer than expected to heal. He was scheduled to face hitters Thursday before getting sick and developing soreness in his right side.

Nola didn’t recall a specific incident that would have caused the soreness. Thomson said the Phillies’ training staff hypothesized that it may have been a residual effect from Nola’s persistent cough, but when the discomfort didn’t subside, the team ordered more tests.

Even now that the problem has been identified, neither the team nor Nola knows the cause.

“I have no idea because he doesn’t really remember the moment that it happened,” Thomson said. “He just woke up one day and it was sore.”

» READ MORE: ‘Phillies Extra’ Q&A: Mick Abel on overcoming failure, collecting baseball cards, and more

Maybe it all helps explain Nola’s uncharacteristic struggles on the mound. In nine starts, he has a 6.16 ERA in 49⅔ innings.

The Phillies replaced Nola in the rotation with rookie righty Mick Abel, who started Tuesday night against the Cubs. Entering the game, he allowed one run in 11⅓ innings — and most impressively, didn’t walk a batter.

And now, Abel will remain in the rotation for longer than expected.

“What I’ve seen so far from Mick is a guy that’s really mature,” Thomson said. “His poise and composure is fantastic. Strike-throwing ability, being able to spin the baseball and spin it for strikes. He’s really been fantastic. I hope he keeps it going.”

A visit with team doctors revealed no updates for Bryce Harper, who remains shut down from baseball activities because of inflammation around the lunate bone at the top of his right wrist near his hand.

“Status quo,” Thomson said. “Treatments only.”

Harper isn’t scheduled to receive an injection to aid the recovery process. He played through the identical injury last season without going on the injured list and said it didn’t heal until December, two months after the season.

The Phillies are hopeful that the combination of rest and treatment will enable Harper’s wrist to heal more quickly, although they haven’t put a timetable on his return.

» READ MORE: Phillies place Bryce Harper on 10-day injured list: ‘I can’t really function on a baseball field’

“I went 4½ months without the pain, pretty much from December until spring training and into the season a little bit,” Harper said. “I’m hoping the kind of things that we did this offseason progress that and I could feel better after.”

At least for a while.

“Once our trainers get this thing under control, they’ll keep it there — hopefully,“ Thomson said. ”But you can never guarantee that it won’t come back.“

Recently recalled infielder Otto Kemp took grounders at first base before the game but made his fourth consecutive start at third. Kemp said he feels “most comfortable” at third base. Thomson apparently agrees, with third baseman Alec Bohm remaining at first in Harper’s absence.

Trea Turner typically leads off when the Phillies face a left-handed starter. But for the first time this season, he was atop the order against a righty.

It might stay this way for a while. Bryson Stott, who leads off against most righties, is batting .195 with a .244 on-base percentage in 33 games since May 1.

“Just looking to take pressure off Stott right now a little bit,” said Thomson, who dropped Stott to the No. 5 spot.

Thomson said he didn’t consider elevating Kyle Schwarber back to the leadoff spot because he wants to give him more chances to bat with a runner on base.

» READ MORE: Can starters provide relief? Sizing up who could fill a need in the Phillies’ bullpen for the playoffs.

Touted center field prospect Justin Crawford missed his fourth consecutive game in triple A because of a quadriceps strain that Thomson characterized as “mild.” The Phillies don’t expect the injury to linger. ... Jesús Luzardo (5-2, 4.46 ERA), who believes he was tipping pitches in back-to-back brutal starts, is scheduled to start the series finale at 1:05 p.m. Wednesday against Cubs righty Ben Brown (3-4, 5.37). The Phillies drafted Brown in the 33rd round in 2017 and traded him to the Cubs at the deadline in 2022 for reliever David Robertson.