HOUSTON -- New York Yankees right-hander Luis Severino will be shut down for the next six weeks after an MRI revealed a Grade 2 lat strain on his right side.

The injury, revealed in an MRI performed in New York on Tuesday, is separate from the right rotator cuff inflammation he originally was diagnosed with during spring training.

Since the lat strain didn't present itself on the MRI that Severino had after he was diagnosed with the rotator cuff inflammation, it is believed he might have developed the lat strain at some point during the rehab throwing program he has been under the past two weeks.

While out for the next six weeks, Severino won't throw at all, the team said.

"I don't know if 'relief' is the right word, but a little bit like, 'OK, now we know what it is,'" manager Aaron Boone said Tuesday after the Yankees' 6-3 loss to the Houston Astros. "A little relief that it's not going to be a surgery thing.

"Obviously, it's going to take a little more time now, but a little comfort in knowing this is what it is, it appears to be treatable; just got to take some time, and hopefully we'll get a healthy, strong and fresh Sevy back for a good portion of the season."

Boone said Monday that the Yankees were sending Severino from their facility in Tampa, Florida, to New York in order to undergo a reevaluation by head team physician Dr. Chris Ahmad.

In recent days, Severino hadn't been feeling pain, Boone said. But the team's ace also hadn't been feeling comfortable enough in his rehab to graduate to getting back on the mound. Since his throwing program resumed at the end of March after a three-week stint of inactivity, Severino had done only some long-toss and had advanced to throwing from about 130 feet off flat ground.

According to Boone, Severino was having some of his best rehab work over the weekend.

Boone also reported that Severino "didn't feel as great" on Monday after playing catch in Tampa, which led to the decision to send him for more testing.

Severino has not pitched off a mound since experiencing shoulder discomfort following a warm-up pitch before his first spring training start March 5. The Yankees initially shut him down for three weeks and scratched him from his Opening Day start. They had hoped he would be able to rejoin the rotation by mid-April, but general manager Brian Cashman later pushed that to around May 1.

Clearly, he won't return until after that point now.

About two hours before the findings of the MRI were announced, Boone said he believed in the Yankees' current pitchers in the event Severino's news wouldn't be too favorable.

"We've already seen a lot of quality pitchers step up for us," Boone said. "We've seen some young pitchers take more steps for us. So yeah, we feel like we're equipped to handle a lot of things."

Severino went 19-8 with a 3.39 ERA last season. Earlier this spring, he signed a four-year, $40 million contract extension.

Following Tuesday's game, the Yankees optioned one of Severino's early-season replacements, Jonathan Loaisiga. The 23-year-old struggled in his start in Houston on Tuesday, allowing two runs and four hits on 71 pitches in just three innings of work.

Loaisiga's issues came after he struck out George Springer, Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman on 16 pitches in the first inning.

"You're seeing a young, talented pitcher that flashes it so much, and it's just sometimes a learning curve at the big league level," Boone said. "Sometimes, it's tough to make that final step. But everyone watching him can see how close he is and can see how dominant the stuff can be."

Prior to this start, Loaisiga was 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA in career starts in which he had pitched five or more innings. In the three career starts he had in which he had not made it past the fifth, Loaisiga had gone 0-0 with a 5.63 ERA.

The Yankees haven't yet named a corresponding move for Loaisiga's demotion. It's possible they will add a reliever to help their struggling bullpen for a couple of days before making another move that brings 19-year veteran CC Sabathia off the injured list and back onto the active roster.

Sabathia is expected to make his first start of the season back in New York this weekend.

One potential call-up with Severino still shelved is veteran Gio Gonzalez. The lefty had a strong outing at Triple-A on Tuesday, recording 10 strikeouts and allowing just three hits in six innings. After signing with the Yankees late in spring training, Gonzalez was sent to Triple-A to begin the season.

MANCHESTER, England -- Gerard Pique warned former side Manchester United that Barcelona will put the tie to bed if they get the chance in Wednesday's Champions League quarterfinal first leg.

Pique, who spent four years at United as a youngster, returns to Old Trafford this week for the first time since moving back to Barca in 2008.

Barca start the tie as favourites but United come into the clash buoyed by an impressive comeback against Paris Saint-Germain in the last round. Pique says he watched both games against PSG and urged his teammates to take the chances which come their way to avoid suffering the same fate as the French champions.

"I think the PSG tie is a great example," the defender said in a news conference on Tuesday. "I think [at Old Trafford], PSG played better. In the second half they scored and could have scored more.

"But you can't leave United alive. If you can beat them [by] scoring a lot of goals, you have to do it. They have a great history and they showed that in Paris, even with a lot of young lads from the academy. It's a great example for us. We have to be switched on from the first minute until the last."

Pique, 32, spent his formative years at United under Sir Alex Ferguson. The Premier League side's form has suffered since Ferguson's retirement in 2013 but Pique still believes they're England's best club despite currently sitting sixth in the Premier League.

"Since I played here, they have always been one of England's great teams," he added. "Obviously, teams have ups and downs and moments of transition but they're the biggest team in England.

"They consider the Premier League the same as the Champions League here -- if not more important -- and since the Ferguson era they've been the biggest team and will keep on being the biggest team. Things aren't [going as well at the moment] but I hope they change and quickly they get back on top.

"I spent several years here, between 17 and 21, my first as a professional. I played in good games alongside great players and also had some crazy times off the pitch. I left my family and friends to come here and I returned to Barcelona an adult. It's a special game for me."

Pique was briefly teammates with current United coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer during his time at United and he has fond memories of the Norwegian, who has turned the English side's fortunes around since replacing Jose Mourinho in December.

"It was a great experience to train alongside him," Pique remembered. "He was one of the veterans and he helped me a lot when it came to adapting to the country and the club. I'm happy to see him in charge of Manchester United, he's done a great job, he's won lots of games playing much better. It will be tough and I hope we can win.

"I imagine we will have the ball, but we have to try and control their counters. They have strong, quick players on the break: [Romelu] Lukaku and [Marcus] Rashford. We have to be careful on dead balls, corners, free kicks. We have to avoid giving them away or defend them well."

Barca have won the Champions League four times since 2006 but have fallen at the quarterfinal stage in each of the last three seasons. It's increased their desire to win it this season -- especially after watching rivals Real Madrid win it three times in a row -- but Pique denied the players are under additional pressure to perform.

"Pressure would be if we'd never won it or if this was the only title left for us [to win] this season," he said. "That is not the case. We have done things well this season and that's why we are where we are: [11 points] clear in La Liga, in the Copa del Rey final and in the last eight in Europe.

"Look back and you will see that we have done very well in [all competitions] in recent seasons. So, there's no pressure. There's a lot of excitement."

Harry Kane exited Tottenham Hotspur's Champions League quarterfinal match against Manchester City on Monday with an apparent ankle injury.

Kane collided with City defender Fabian Delph on the sideline and limped off the Tottenham Stadium pitch toward the tunnel with the assistance of team trainers.

Lucas Moura came in for Kane.

Kane missed six weeks earlier this season after suffering ankle ligament damage in a Jan. 15 Premier League match against Manchester United.