Astros star Yordan Alvarez’s return to the diamond took another snag on Tuesday when he had his hand fracture rehab shut down, which has his status for the rest of this season up in the air. 

The Astros’ designated hitter — who is now scheduled to see a hand specialist later this week — was rehabbing at the team’s Florida spring training facility when his hand became sore and the organization shut him down. 

Alvarez, 28, has been working his way back from the issue in his right hand, which first surfaced in May. 

Speaking with reporters in Denver, Astros general manager Dana Brown didn’t close the idea that hand surgery could be needed, saying that “it’s too early to tell” and calling the latest setback a “tough pill to swallow.” 

“At the end of the day, his health is the most important thing here. We’ll let him take the time that he needs to get completely healed,” Brown said, according to The Athletic.

The Astros first dubbed the issue a muscle strain in Alvarez’s right hand, but in late May, the team said it had found a “small fracture” near the fourth metacarpal, which is the bone that connects a person’s wrist to their ring finger, according to the Cleveland Clinic. 

Alvarez has not played in a game since May 2, but the team had started to get some optimism for his return after he took batting practice in Houston over the weekend, and there was hope he could be activated during the Astros’ upcoming series against the Guardians at home. 

“We felt like he was close because he had felt so good of late,” Brown said. “This is certainly news that we didn’t want.”

Alvarez was hitting .210/.306/.340 in 121 plate appearances this season before the injury.