A-Rod's Doctor On WFAN: 'I Didn't See Anything' On MRI
NEW YORK (WFAN) -- Dr. Michael Gross of Hackensack University Medical Center said he gave Alex Rodriguez a second opinion on his Grade 1 left quadriceps strain and "didn't see anything" on the MRI.
"To be perfectly honest, I don't see any sort of injury there," Gross told WFAN's Mike Francesa on Wednesday.
Gross never examined Rodriguez, nor did A-Rod tell the Yankees he was looking for a second opinion, general manager Brian Cashman said Wednesday night.
Dr. Michael Gross
On Francesa's show, Gross said: "I had the chance to talk to him today also. I asked him ... 'A-Rod, does anything hurt?' And he said 'No.' If there's no pain, to me as an orthopedist, that means there's no injury.
"He asked me, 'Well, do you think I'm fit to play?' And I said, 'Alex,' very specifically, 'without examining you, I couldn't possibly make that call.' But I asked him, 'Do you think you're fit to play?' And he said '100 percent.' So I'm guessing a guy who's been playing ball his entire life knows his body. If he thinks he's fit to play, that's what he said."
Francesa also reported that A-Rod has told the New York Yankees he wants to play Friday night in the Bronx.
"It's my understanding now that he's told the Yankees he feels great, he's ready to go and that he wants to be in the lineup on Friday night against Tampa," Francesa said.
However, amid all of the reports, Cashman issued the following statement on Wednesday evening, which said in part:
"I heard via a text message this afternoon from Alex Rodriguez that he had retained a doctor to review his medical situation. In media reports, we have since learned that the doctor in question has acknowledged that he did not examine Mr. Rodriguez and that he was not retained to do a comprehensive medical examination of Mr. Rodriguez. Contrary to the Basic Agreement, Mr. Rodriguez did not notify us at any time that he was seeking a second opinion from any doctor with regard to his quad strain.
"As you know, it is the Yankees' desire to have Alex return to the lineup as soon as possible. And we have done everything to try and accomplish this," Cashman added.
Rodriguez, rehabbing from offseason hip surgery and embroiled in Major League Baseball's latest performance-enhancing drugs scandal, told WFAN last week that he planned to return this past Monday in Texas.
Rodriguez had an MRI after complaining of soreness in the quad over the weekend and was shut down by the team Sunday. He reported back to the Yankees' complex in Tampa on Wednesday.
"As early as Friday, July 12, when I suggested to Alex that we move his rehab from Tampa to Triple-A Scranton (at Buffalo), Alex complained for the first time of "tightness" in his quad and therefore refused to consent to the transfer of his assignment. Again, last Sunday, Alex advised that he had stiffness in his quad and should not play on Sunday or Monday. We sent Alex to NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital for an MRI which evidenced a Grade 1 strain," Cashman said in the statement.
"As always, we will follow the rules and regulations set forth in the Basic Agreement, and will again re-evaluate Alex in Tampa tomorrow, as our goal is to return him to the lineup as soon as he is medically capable of doing so," he added.
Mike: A-Rod Wants To Play
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