Cardinals manager Mike Matheny has ruptured disk

AAA??Mar. 3, 2013?12:03 PM ET
Cardinals manager Mike Matheny has ruptured disk
AP

St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny, left, talks to Washington Nationals bullpen coach Jim Lett before an exhibition spring training baseball game, Saturday, March 2, 2013, in Jupiter, Fla. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny, left, talks to Washington Nationals bullpen coach Jim Lett before an exhibition spring training baseball game, Saturday, March 2, 2013, in Jupiter, Fla. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny holds the Washington Nationals line up before an exhibition spring training baseball game, Saturday, March 2, 2013, in Jupiter, Fla. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny, center, watches from the dugout in the eighth inning of an exhibition spring training baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013, in Fort Myers, Fla. St. Louis won 15-4. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Former NFL football coach Bill Parcells, center, talks to St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny, left, and Houston Astros manager Bo Porter before an exhibition spring training baseball game in Jupiter, Fla., Monday, Feb. 25, 2013. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

St. Louis Cardinals center fielder Jon Jay, right, talks to manager Mike Matheny during spring training baseball, Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013, in Jupiter, Fla. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

VIERA, Fla. (AP) ? (AP) ? St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny has a ruptured disk in his back.

Matheny, a major league catcher from 1994-06, is scheduled to have an epidural injection Monday to reduce inflammation and get a particle off a nerve. If the injection doesn't help alleviate pain, he said surgery would "have to be something we would consider."

Starting his second season as the Cardinals' manager, Matheny has had back issues for several years.

"I've had problems for a long time, off and on," he said Sunday. "I've been on a program to kind of strengthen it, but ... something set it off in a bad direction. I don't know exactly what it was.

Matheny did not travel with the team to Kissimmee on Friday, citing back pain and food poisoning. He returned to manage the Cardinals on Saturday in Jupiter.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-03-03-BBN-Cardinals-Matheny/id-f15cd159bcff403aab15dcfe0d998fa2

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