Kyle Tucker and the Cubs are attempting an unusual approach in the hopes of making progress with his left calf injury.

The team is sending Tucker and a member of the Cubs medical staff to Tampa, Fla., to receive treatment on his calf with physical therapist Jeremy Maddox, whom Tucker has worked with before.

The star right fielder is from Tampa and works with the PT group in the offseason. He also visited them for treatment last year while with the Houston Astros as he recovered from a shin contusion that cost him half the season.

“We’re aligned with Kyle and this is the best way for him to make some improvements,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell told reporters in Pittsburgh Wednesday morning. “Unfortunately, we plateaued and we weren’t making progress. That’s frustrating for Kyle, and that’s the concern about getting him back soon.

“He had some success with this group last year in Houston when he had a leg injury as well. We’re hoping for the same success and hoping to get him back on the field. He’ll rejoin the team on the homestand in Chicago.”

Tucker first came out of the lineup on Sept. 2 with calf tightness and hasn’t appeared in a game since.

He initially spent a week on the Cubs’ bench, with the hope that he would be able to get into the lineup after a couple days’ rest.

But the team ultimately placed him on the IL on Sept. 9, backdating it to Sept. 6.

Tucker was eligible to come off the 10-day IL on Tuesday of this week, but Counsell said last weekend at Wrigley Field that the Cubs were not expecting him to be activated right away in Pittsburgh.

Tucker has still had some issues with running, though he has done some baseball activities over the last couple weeks like taking swings.

This isn’t a setback, but the Cubs and Tucker are looking for any way they can accelerate his healing with the playoffs less than two weeks away.

“It’s the same diagnosis,” Counsell said. “Unfortunately, we’re not responding to treatment, so we’re gonna try something different.”

Tucker brought the idea to the Cubs and the team was open to the unconventional approach. It’s not unheard of for pro athletes to receive treatment from medical staffs outside their respective organization, but it is rare.

“Yeah, it was certainly his idea,” Counsell said. “I think because one, we’re not making progress, and two, because he had success last year to try the different set of eyes, essentially. A new set of eyes.”

The Cubs could clinch a playoff spot as soon as Wednesday with a win in the series finale against the Pirates.

The first game of the NL Wild Card series is Tuesday, Sept. 30 — giving Tucker less than two weeks to heal up and get back in the lineup.

In an ideal world, the Cubs would like to get Tucker into some games to see live at-bats before the playoffs start.