CHICAGO — Kyle Tucker will miss the Cubs’ series finale against the Kansas City Royals Wednesday after fouling a ball off his right knee on Tuesday.

During his first at-bat of the game, Tucker fought off a sinker way inside from Royals lefty Rich Hill, which appeared to ricochet off his kneecap.

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Tucker crumpled to the ground as manager Craig Counsell and a trainer rushed to his side, but the All-Star right fielder got back on his feet and resumed the at-bat after a few minutes. Tucker remained in the game and appeared to continue his normal level of activity, including a steal of home plate on a headfirst slide in the seventh inning. The Cubs went on to win 6-0 and regain joint control of the NL Central with the Milwaukee Brewers.

“He’s good — he’s just generally banged up,” Counsell said Wednesday morning of Tucker’s absence from the lineup. “(It’s an) opportunity to get him the most out of two days off here and go from there. He’ll be back in there for sure on Friday.”

The Cubs are off on Thursday before beginning a series on the South Side with the White Sox Friday evening.

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Counsell’s evaluation is good news for the Cubs, given Tucker’s similar injury last season that kept him out of the Houston Astros’ lineup for several months. Tucker fouled a ball off his shin in early June and, though initially reported as a contusion, imaging revealed a small fracture. He did not return to the Astros’ active roster until September.

“Kyle’s one of those guys where you don’t see a lot of emotion on the field,” Counsell said. “That makes it hard to see what’s going on. You play through things, and he does it in a very unassuming way. But any of the guys playing every day are playing through things — that’s how this works. It’s a credit to him for doing that.”