CLEVELAND | Royals pitcher Luke Hochevar is heading to the disabled list, perhaps for an extended stay, after suffering a perplexing bruise above his right rib cage in Tuesday’s 9-4 loss to the Indians at Progressive Field.</p><p> Hochevar remained at a loss Wednesday to explain the cause of the injury, which surfaced as he was throwing warm-up pitches in the sixth inning.</p><p> What was certain is he remained in pain.</p><p> "It’s about the same," Hochevar admitted. "Sitting still hurts. Standing up feels the best. Some pain medicine helped me sleep. As long as I didn’t move, I was all right."</p><p> The Royals replaced Hochevar by recalling reliever Josh Newman from Class AAA Omaha. Actually, Newman never reached Omaha — he was still in Ohio after being optioned Tuesday to the O-Royals to clear space for just-signed Kip Wells.</p><p> Newman allowed three runs in six innings over three appearances for the Royals after joining the club Aug. 10 from Omaha.</p><p> Hochevar still had trouble drawing deep breaths Wednesday as he departed for X-rays as a follow-up to a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examination.</p><p> "He has a right rib contusion," manager Trey Hillman said. "We don’t know how he got it. There wasn’t any impact. He hadn’t been in any barroom brawls or fallen on any chairs or any of that stuff.</p><p> "We don’t know definitively from the MRI whether there is more than a bruise. Best-case scenario, it’s just a 15-day DL, and he can get some more work in this season. But it’s not going to be one of those things where we’re going to force it."</p><p> Hochevar, 24, is 6-12 with a 5.51 ERA in 22 starts but has struggled over the last seven weeks in losing seven of his last eight decisions.</p><p><b>Rotation options</b></p><p> So who starts Saturday and Sunday against the Tigers at Kauffman Stadium? The early line favorites are Kyle Davies and Brandon Duckworth, although Wells remains a possibility over Duckworth for Sunday’s game.</p><p> Hillman gave little away before Wednesday’s game.</p><p> "As of right now, we’re TBA for Saturday and Sunday," he said. "The options will probably come from the Triple-A club. So we’ll see what gets suggested in the next couple of days."</p><p> Hillman said it was "very doubtful" the Royals would use a bullpen committee for either game. </p><p> Summoning either Davies or Duckworth presents procedural problems.</p><p> Davies was optioned Aug. 15 to Omaha and must remain at least 10 days in the minors unless replacing a player requiring time on the disabled list. That could be reliever Ron Mahay, who has made only one appearance since Aug. 6 because of a sore left foot.</p><p> Nonetheless, the Royals positioned Davies for a recall by limiting him to one inning Tuesday after his scheduled start Monday was rained out.</p><p> Adding Duckworth would require a space-clearing move on the 40-man roster. Duckworth pitched five shutout innings Tuesday and could pitch Sunday on four days rest.</p><p> The Royals could opt for Wells, who worked primarily as a starter throughout his 10-year career. But he has pitched only 3 1/3 innings since July 31.</p><p> "Probably not," Hillman said. "I think we’re going to leave him alone and leave him in the bullpen."</p><p><b>Rehab updates</b></p><p>• Left-handed pitcher Jimmy Gobble continues to exhibit command and control problems at Omaha as he recovers from tightness in his lower back. He has allowed eight runs and 12 hits in 9 1/3 innings over four appearances. He has 12 strikeouts but also seven walks.</p><p>• Second baseman Mark Grudzielanek is scheduled to return to Kansas City, probably on the upcoming homestand, for a follow-up examination on a torn deltoid ligament in his right ankle. He is currently recovering at home in San Diego.