Auburn baseball star catcher Ike Irish could miss multiple weeks with an ankle sprain picked up during the second game of Sunday’s doubleheader against Mississippi State, head coach Butch Thompson said.

Irish injured his ankle sliding into first base in Starkville. He did not play in Auburn’s 11-1 win Tuesday against Florida A&M. He was seen at Plainsman Park in a walking boot and out of uniform.

Thompson said he got a “good report” on Irish’s ankle and said he does not believe anything was broken after getting X-rays. His ankle is swollen and bruised, however.

“I don’t know if that’s one, two or three weeks,” Thompson said. “He’ll be out for a period of time.”

It’s another big blow in what has already been a very difficult season for Auburn. Auburn has lost eight straight SEC games and is in last place in the conference at 2-16 in the league.

Auburn’s pitching staff has the worst ERA in SEC games next season, and that’s now coupled with the team losing its best hitter in Irish.

Irish is hitting .326 this year with 11 home runs and 48 RBIs.

Auburn only has four weekend series left in a season that has been among the most disappointing of Thompson’s tenure. Auburn is fighting for a spot in the SEC Tournament and a trip to the NCAA Tournament looks, at this point, highly unlikely.

Should Irish’s timeline keep him out for several weeks as Thompson mentioned, Auburn may be in a position where Irish isn’t rushed back quickly, with his obvious professional future maybe not worth risking re-injury in a season gone awry.

Yet Auburn could also use him back quickly if it wants to have any shot at a postseason. After Auburn’s win over Florida A&M, Thompson said that Tuesday was the start of Auburn’s postseason. His point: Auburn is going to have to start playing now as if it was the postseason in order to have a shot at making the actual postseason.