he Atlanta Braves have had a much worse season than anyone predicted them to.

Atlanta was expected to be atop the National League and appear in the postseason for the eighth straight season.

Neither of those have been close to happening this season, and the Braves’ season may have taken one final blow on Thursday.

The team announced Thursday that Riley underwent core injury surgery and would miss the remainder of the season. According to the team, he is expected to return for spring training next season.

Riley was injured in the Speedway Classic at Bristol Motor Speedway earlier this month. He was chasing down Cincinnati Reds superstar for a play at the plate and that is when he suffered the core injury.

Riley has finished in the top seven of MVP voting in three of the previous four seasons and was in the midst of a bounce-back season. He will finish the season with a slash line of. 260/309/.428, good for a .737 OPS with a career low in doubles (20), home runs (16) and RBI (54).

Along with solid performances, Riley has been among some of the most consistent players in games played across the league. Prior to injuries both this season and last season, Riley appeared in 478 of Atlanta’s 486 games in the three seasons prior.

He and first baseman Matt Olson are among the league leaders in games played since their tenures in Atlanta and they are each catalyst for the overwhelming amount of success the Braves have recently seen.

A full offseason of recovery and rehab for Riley will be important as he will look to come back as strong as ever next season and help Atlanta avoid missing the playoffs in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2014-2017.