The National League Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers will have to continue their playoff push without Christian Yelich.

Yelich is undergoing season-ending back surgery today, putting an end to the 2018 NL MVP’s resurgent season. Yelich was leading the NL in batting average (.315) and on-base percentage (.406) when he went on the injured list in late July.

But he hasn’t played since getting removed from a game at Chicago’s Wrigley Field on July 23. Yelich has been dealing with back trouble for the last few years, and the issue landed him on the injured list twice this season.

The 32-year-old Yelich said Thursday in a video posted on social media that surgery “was just the best option that we really had left.”

“It just got to the point where it wasn’t getting better,” Yelich said. “I tried everything I could, ran out of options and it came time to make a decision.”

The Brewers announced that Dr. Brandon Rebholz will perform the surgery in Milwaukee.

Yelich was having his best season since his first two years in Milwaukee, when he won the NL MVP in 2018 and finished second in the 2019 MVP balloting. He earned his third All-Star Game selection this season and had 11 homers, 42 RBIs and 21 steals in 73 games despite dealing with his back issues.

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