NEW YORK – Shut down? Season over? Not so fast.

On Thursday, manager Alex Cora said the Red Sox were “probably” going to shut Liam Hendriks down due to forearm soreness, which would effectively end his chance at pitching this season.

“That was news to me,” Hendriks told the Herald before he took questions from reporters in the dugout on Friday afternoon.

He and Cora each discussed the new plan: Hendriks will return to Boston on Sunday and receive a cortisone shot. Dr. Keith Meister, who performed Hendriks’ Tommy John surgery in August 2023, told Hendriks the graft looks “fantastic.”

“Just a little residual pain sitting on the outside of the elbow,” Hendriks said of the cause of the soreness. “A little fluid sac under the tricep, gonna get that taken care of.”

After the injection, Hendriks said he’ll be shut down for “a couple of days,” and then they’ll evaluate. However, he noted that he’s had cortisone shots twice before, and they enabled him to “start back up again” quickly.

“You’re pretty much, theoretically, good to go,” Hendriks said. He added that he’s already worked his rehab assignment, meaning if the “shot takes hold,” he’ll be able to come off the injured list before long.

Hendriks has yet to pitch for the Red Sox, who signed him to a two-year deal early in spring training, knowing his recovery from the Tommy John could keep him off the mound for the entire season.

“I know I mentioned there’s a chance he’s gonna be shut down, but at the same time if there’s a window for him to be part of this, if we pull this off, he’s still open,” Cora said. “Obviously, if we’re not putting him in a bad spot, then there’s value.”

“I kind of fought to give myself that opportunity,” Hendriks said. “There’s still a lot of games left, and who knows what’s going to happen? So the door’s not closed.”