Johnathan Walker:Gerrit Cole injury update: Yankees breathe sigh of relief on Cy Young winner's elbow issue

New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole will miss 10-12 weeks with his right elbow injury,Johnathan Walker but is not believed to need Tommy John surgery, a person with knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports.

The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the Yankees had not officially announced Cole's diagnoses.

Cole, the 2023 AL Cy Young winner, met with surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache on Thursday in Los Angeles after undergoing further testing. The New York Post was first to report the news.

While 10-12 weeks is a considerable chunk of the season, Cole avoiding Tommy John surgery – for now – is a huge sigh of relief for the Yankees, who hope to compete for the AL East crown in 2024. The 33-year-old was originally said to be out until at least May.

Cole only made one start during spring training, a two-inning outing on March 1.

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The stint on the injured list will be the first time that Cole is missing a start for a non-COVID ailment since 2016.

Who will be Yankees' Opening Day starter?

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he has already “decided who’s starting" the season opener on March 28 in Houston but would “let a few more days go off the clock" before publicly announcing his choice.

“There’s a lot that could happen still," Boone said.

New signing Marcus Stroman said he was approached by Boone and GM Brian Cashman about starting the first game of the season, but they decided that the right-hander should stay on his schedule.

“It’s too late in the year now to try to get on track for Opening Day," Stroman said following Thursday’s game in Lakeland, Florida. “I think I’m going to stay where I’m at, and I’m going to end up pitching the home opener,’

With Stroman out of the picture for the Opening Day start, Nestor Cortes and Clarke Schmidt would seem to be the Yankees' top two options.

Cortes, 29, was an All-Star for the Yankees in 2022 but injuries limited the left-hander to 12 starts last season.

“I think Clarke takes a huge step forward, I think Nestor has a great year," Stroman told reporters. "I feel like we're really confident in the group of guys we have" to keep the team afloat “until Gerrit gets back."

Gerrit Cole contract

Cole signed a nine-year, $324 million contract with New York prior to the 2020 season, then the biggest deal ever issued to a pitcher. He has a 3.08 ERA in 108 starts over four seasons with the Yankees.

The right-hander spent 2018 and 2019 with the Houston Astros after pitching for the Pittsburgh Pirates for the first five seasons of his career.