Yankees' Didi Gregorius tears wrist cartilage

Will Yankees shortstop Didi Gregorius (torn right wrist cartilage) return before the American League Wild Card Game?

NEW YORK — The Yankees won a postseason berth but may have lost so much.

And it all happened at the same time.

Didi Gregorius‘ wild headfirst slide to win Saturday’s game and clinch a playoff spot came with a price.

Gregorius suffered what he called a small tear in the cartilage of his right wrist, and the Yankees don’t know if he’ll be back with seven games to go until the American League Wild Card Game.

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How he got hurt: Gregorius’ right hand got caught in the dirt, possibly in a divot left from a batter’s spikes, while sliding home following Aaron Hicks‘ 11th-inning double. He popped right up, celebrated with his team and felt fine … until Sunday morning, when his wrist was sore and swollen.

What happened after: Sunday morning, Gregorius had an MRI and a cortisone shot. He was out of the lineup and the Yankees didn’t say anything about it until after the game.

What Gregorius said: Asked if he could play in the Wild Card on Oct. 3, he said, “I hope so.”

“It feels a little bit better now,” Gregorius said.

He added, “I have some movement in there and they say things like this happen to other players and they play through it.”

What Boone said: Will Gregorius return?

“Unsure,” he said. “I think there’s a real possibility that we do. There’s also a possibility that we don’t. We’ll know a lot more in a few days and we’ll see how the wrist responds to the cortisone shot.”

That sounds like Gregorius is out at least until Friday, when the Yankees start their season-ending series in Boston.

“Didi’s a great player and obviously I think everyone in this room understands how important he is to our team,” Boone said, “kind of an anchor for us defensively in the infield and obviously what he brings from the left side of the plate. So we’ll cross that bridge when we get there but hopefully we’ll get some good news here in a few days that it responds how we hope.”

Now what? The Yankees will mix shortstops, using shifting Gleyber Torres from second base or using defensive wizard Adeiny Hechavarria, who has a light bat. Tyler Wade and Ronald Torreyes could be options, too.

You should know: Gregorius was hot lately, hitting five home runs in his last nine games.

Gregorius has a career high 27 home runs with a .268 batting average and 86 RBI, plus a .834 OPS in 496 at-bats. In September, he was hitting .250 with five homers and 12 RBI in 14 games (12 starts) and a 1.018 OPS.

Brendan Kuty may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @BrendanKutyNJ. Find NJ.com Yankees on Facebook.