Clayton Kershaw injury: Dodgers star could head back to IL after leaving start vs. D-backs in second inning

Veteran Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw was forced to exit his Friday start against the Arizona Diamondbacks because of a bone spur in his left big toe. After the game, manager Dave Roberts suggested that Kershaw could require a stint on the injured list .

Kershaw lasted just 27 pitches into what turned out to be a thrilling and important 10-9 victory for the first-place Dodgers over the D-backs at Chase Field. Kershaw allowed three runs in his lone inning of work. Kershaw attempted to continue pitching in the second inning, but he exited after allowing a home run to Corbin Carroll .

"It's obviously not good," Roberts said post-game, via Jack Harris . "There's swelling. There's pain. He's doing everything he can to kind of get through. Some starts it feels fine and it's not impeding. Today certainly it was. He just, he had nothing. No legs today obviously. Then you start worrying about how it could affect his arm. There was just no other alternative but to take him out."

The 36-year-old future Hall of Famer has dealt with a rash of injuries in recent years. This season, Kershaw didn't make his first start for the Dodgers until July 25 because of offseason shoulder surgery. He hasn't managed a qualifying number of innings in a season since 2019. This season, he's pitched to a 4.50 ERA and a 3.54 FIP across 30 innings and seven starts.

The injury to Kershaw is the latest for a Dodgers rotation that's been waylaid by health woes in 2024. L.A. presently has six starting pitchers on the IL, including Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow .

The Dodgers enter Saturday's second game of their series with Arizona at 81-54 and with what's now a five-game lead in the National League West over those same D-backs.