NEW YORK -- When Indians DH Edwin Encarnacion came into the visitor's clubhouse at Yankee Stadium on crutches with his right foot in a walking boot on Saturday afternoon, it did not look good.

But manager Terry Francona said Encarnacion has not been ruled out of Game 3 of the ALDS on Sunday night and won't be replaced on the roster.

Encarnacion left Friday's 9-8, 13-inning victory over the Yankees in the first inning after spraining his right ankle going back into second base to try and avoid a double play.

"There's no fracture, it's just the ligaments and I'm going to be day-to-day," said Encarnacion, when asked what the MRI of his ankle showed.

Said Francona, "I don't know if remarkably better is a good way to say it, but he's pretty close. He's doing much better today. I don't think he's going to start on Sunday, but he's not been ruled out either.

"So we'll allow him to continue to get treatment. But if he's close to being available, that's a really good sign. So we're obviously not going to do anything roster wise."

The Indians lead the best-of-five AL Division Series, 2-0. They can advance to the AL Championship Series with a win on Sunday. If the Indians replaced Encarnacion in the ALDS, he would not be eligible to play in the ALCS.

Encarnacion, in his first season with the Indians, hit .258 (143-for-554) with 38 homers and 107 RBI during the regular season. He is the only player in the big leagues who has hit 30 or more homers over the last six seasons.

To put it mildly, he will be a hard man to replace should the Indians advance without him. Francona told reporters Saturday that Michael Brantley will likely be the DH on Sunday with Encarnacion, in a best-case-scenario, being available to pinch hit.

The Indians have dealt with injuries all season, especially to position players such as Brantley, Jason Kipnis and Lonnie Chisenhall. It did not stop them from winning 101 games and capturing home-field advantage in the postseason.

Encarnacion, when asked how he felt his teammates would respond without him, said, "We have a great team. We have great talent. Even if I'm not in the lineup, we'll still play well.

"We have a lot of good players -- on the roster and off the roster. We're going to keep playing the way we know how no matter who is playing."

Carlos Carrasco, who will start for the Indians on Sunday night, missed the postseason last year with a broken right hand. So he knows what Encarnacion is talking about.

"Injuries happen to every team," said Carrasco. "It happened Friday with Encarnacion, but I always remember what Tito (Francona) said that someone is going to come up and step up for him, and that's pretty much set."

The Indians, with Encarnacion on second, had the bases loaded in the first inning. Jay Bruce sent a liner over second base that shortstop Didi Gregorius caught. Encarnacion was off the bag and tried to step back to second, but twisted his ankle and fell to the ground in pain.

Encarnacion, twisting in pain, was originally called safe, but the Yankees challenged the safe call. The call on the field was overturned as replay showed that Encarnacion came off the bag.

"I really didn't feel that good when it first happened," said Encarnacion. "But then when we got the results of the MRI it really helped me. Then after we won the game, I felt even better.

"The ankle is a lot better today. I think I'll be back soon."

Encarnacion initially felt he'd seriously injured his ankle.

"There was a lot of pain," he said. "I thought it was going to be worse. But God blessed me and I'm OK."

After looking at the play on video, Encarnacion said he should have slid back into second base.

"It would have been better if I would have slid, but in that situation you don't have much time to think," said Encarnacion. "That's how I reacted."