UPDATE: Wainwright shares injury details, expresses optimism:

Just hours before leaving Jupiter, Florida Wednesday to return to St. Louis to see a specialist regarding abdominal pain he’s been suffering, Cards ace Adam Wainwright offered new details on the source of his injury and expressed optimism to reporters, including Cardinals.com’s Jenifer Langosch.

Wainwright said that he sustained the injury over a week ago on Feb 16 while putting a 45-pound weight back on the rack during a morning workout. Wainwright told Langosch that he “felt a little twinge” in his abdomen but still participated in the rest of the workout.

As both Wainwright and GM John Mozeliak stated Tuesday, the injury has had no affect on the veteran’s ability to throw, as Wainwright has thrown off a mound multiple times since the initial injury without any problems. According to Langosch’s report and others, Wainwright still experiences discomfort while running and lunging, which lead the team’s medical staff to make the decision to send Wainwright back to St. Louis to see a specialist:

The 33-year-old told Langosch early Wednesday that he doesn’t believe the injury should be a cause for major concern:

“I want to be fair to you and say that anything I say about it would just be speculation,” Wainwright said. “I don’t think it’s very serious at all. I think going up there, [Dr. Michael Brunt] is probably not going to see much of anything at all. But I don’t know that. I don’t want to be answering 100 questions about it without really knowing.”

…”I think it’s strictly precautionary,” he said. “It helps the training staff to be like, ‘OK, this is exactly what we’re treating.’ And it helps me with peace of mind knowing that there is nothing wrong. What I have been told is that there is a very high possibility that we’re going to get up there and go, ‘All right, lay low for another couple days and you’ll be good.’ But I don’t know that. I’d hate to say that with some sort of certainty and then that not being true.”

Wainwright will visit Dr. Michael Brunt at Washington University in St. Louis on Thursday, and an update on his status should be expected following that appointment. Wainwright is expected to fly back to Jupiter Thursday evening and said he will address the media on Friday. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch mentioned in a Wednesday morning article that Brunt has substantial experience with sports hernias, and often uses a “tension-free mesh to repair damage to the lower abdomen.” Before Wainwright left the team’s Spring Training complex in Jupiter, Goold reported he had an MRI taken on the area, which showed that it’s “not a hernia.”

The Cardinals had already planned to reduce Wainwright’s workload this spring, as the veteran has thrown the most innings among pitchers in the majors over the last two seasons (519 2/3) and is coming off offseason surgery to trim cartilage in his right elbow.

Read the full update on Wainwright from Langosch’s report on Cardinals.com.

Read more from previous updates below…

UPDATE: Wainwright tells Goold: “Now is not the time to push it.”

Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, who was first to report that Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright was returning to St. Louis to be examined by a specialist following abdominal pain during workouts, provides more details on Wainwright’s status as well as new information from Wainwright himself in a new article published early Wednesday. Goold reports that after two days of reduced workouts which subsided but didn’t eliminate the abdominal pain Wainwright was dealing with, the team medical staff decided it was best to send him back to St. Louis to be examined by a specialist to detect a potential injury. Wainwright expressed to Goold that his injury has nothing to do with his arm, but that Spring Training isn’t the time to just push through an injury like this:

“They want to know exactly how to treat it, and what exactly needs to be treated,” Wainwright said. “It’s not the arm, so this is uncharted waters for me. I think we all know that now is not the time to push it.”

GM John Mozeliak told reporters that Wainwright is scheduled to see Dr. Michael Brunt at Washington University in St. Louis on Thursday, and an update on his status should be expected following that appointment. Goold adds that Brunt has substantial experience with sports hernias, and often uses a “tension-free mesh to repair damage to the lower abdomen.” Before Wainwright left the team’s Spring Training complex in Jupiter, Goold reports he had an MRI taken on the area, which showed that it’s “not a hernia.”

Read Goold’s latest report on Wainwright from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Read more from the original story below…

Wainwright experiencing abdominal pain, returning to St. Louis to see specialist

After suffering abdominal pain during his workouts in Jupiter, Florida, Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright will return to St. Louis to see a specialist on Thursday. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch was first to report the news, and general manager John Mozeliak later confirmed the report.

“It shouldn’t effect him at that point, or any more beyond that point,” Mozeliak told Goold on Tuesday. “I would say (the level of concern) is a medium at this point.”

Mozeliak also told reporters that Wainwright is scheduled to see Dr. Michael Brunt at Washington University in St. Louis on Thursday, and an update on his status should be expected following that appointment.

Jenifer Langosch of Cardinals.com reports that Wainwright threw his first bullpen session of the spring Friday without any issue, and that the abdomen discomfort has thus far only effected the 33-year-old during workouts, not while pitching. Goold reports that Wainwright was careful to point out that he has no pain in his arm at this time to the team’s medical staff.

Here’s more on Wainwright’s recent activity from Goold’s article:

Wainwright did not take the field Tuesday, leaving the Cardinals with 25 of their 26 pitchers going through the final workout before position players join the official drills. He remained with the team’s medical staff going through additional testing of the abdominal area.

In a reaction column for the Post-Dispatch, Bernie Miklasz reports on what he’s hearing as far as the potential severity of Wainwright’s injury:

The preliminary buzz in the hallways around Roger Dean Stadium is that Wainwright could have a sports hernia or a muscle strain in his lower abdomen.

Team sources were reluctant to attach a time frame to a Wainwright return without first getting more info from the medics, but the first-take fear is that the condition could sideline the pitcher for a month to six weeks.

When asked about the possibility of the injury being a sports hernia, Mozeliak said it would be incorrect to make that assumption at this time, telling Goold, “We want him to see a specialist… so we have a better idea.”

Mozeliak spoke with Brian Stull of St. Louis Baseball Weekly Tuesday afternoon in Jupiter. Here’s a look at what he had to say (via Stull):

(UPDATE) Wainwright himself didn’t seem very concerned about the injury in speaking with Goold later Tuesday:

“It has been marginally better each day, but that’s why they want a specialist to see it,” Wainwright said. “Taking a day off might be all it needs. But we can be sure.

“It’s not the arm. The arm feels great.”

The Cardinals had already planned to reduce Wainwright’s workload this spring, as the veteran has thrown the most innings among pitchers in the majors over the last two seasons (519 2/3) and is coming off offseason surgery to trim cartilage in his right elbow.

Check back here for any updates as they come in…

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