Boone: ‘Good news’ Hicks has strain

The Yankees avoided the worst possible outcome for now. With their poor injury luck this year, that has to be considered progress.

Manager Aaron Boone said Aaron Hicks will not need surgery on his injured right elbow, though his flexor strain did result in yet another injured list stint for the center fielder who missed the first six weeks of the season with a lower back strain. It is uncertain how long he will be out.

“Flexor strain, which in the scheme of things, we feel like is good news,” Boone said before the Yankees finished off a fourgame sweep of the skidding Red Sox with a 7-4 win on Sunday night in The Bronx. “We were fearing the worst. … Now it’s just making sure it’s healed and recovered.”

Hicks was taken out in the eighth inning of the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader sweep after feeling pain in his right elbow. An MRI revealed no ligament damage. He will be shut down from throwing for the next seven to 10 days before being reevaluated. Boone wouldn’t give an estimate on a possible return.

“At that point [when he’s reevaluated], hopefully he’s in a position to start ramping back up again,” Boone said. “But we’re optimistic that he’ll be back [this year].”

Hicks is the 26th Yankee to go on the IL, and joins a star-studded group that currently includes Dellin Betances, Luis Severino, Giancarlo Stanton, Gary Sanchez, Luke Voit and most recently Edwin Encarnacion.

Encarnacion suffered a right wrist hairline fracture in the opener on Saturday after getting hit by a pitch. He also will be reevaluated in seven to 10 days and the slugger said on Saturday he was hoping to miss just three weeks. However, it could be longer.

Boone said the Yankees are comfortable with their group of outfielders and promoting outfielder Clint Frazier wasn’t given consideration. Brett Gardner and Mike Tauchman will fill in for Hicks in center field while he’s out.