Newly minted baseball player Tim Tebow has been playing it safe at New York Mets spring training this week after he sprained his ankle in a freak mishap on the field.

Tebow, who arrived in Florida for training last week, sprained his ankle on Monday or Tuesday after stepping on a sprinkler head, the New York Post reported Sunday.

The 30-year-old NFL alum, whose Christian faith on the field earned him fans around the world, said his foot got caught on a sprinkler head in the outfield of the Mets spring training facility in Port St. Lucie.

“I’m trying to be smart about it and keep [the ankle] taped,” Tebow said.

The Mets announced last month that Tebow was one of nine additional players invited to its spring training.

The former Heisman Trophy winner is preparing for his second professional baseball season. Tebow signed a minor league contract with the Mets in September 2016, but didn’t receive an invite to the MLB camp, according to the Bleacher Report.

Tebow spent 2017 between the St. Lucie Mets of the Class A Advanced Florida State League and the Columbia Fireflies of the Class A South Atlantic League. In 126 games between both teams, he had a .226 batting average with eight home runs and 52 RBI.



He was 4 for 27 (.148) with no extra-base hits, one walk and eight strikeouts in nine spring training games for the Mets last year.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.