Ryan Braun MRI reveals strained oblique
Ryan Braun is batting .318 with six homers so far this season. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
An MRI on Milwaukee Brewers slugger Ryan Braun revealed a different injury than initially thought, but there's still no timetable on Braun's exact return to the lineup.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Tom Haudricourt reported that doctors have now diagnosed Braun's injury as a strained oblique, not an intercostal strain. The latter injury is "more complicated," according to Haudricourt, because it deals with the region of the body between the ribs.
Braun, the Brewers' right fielder, sounded hopeful he could make a quicker recovery than anticipated — but oblique injuries are traditionally hard to predict. Brewers manager Ron Roenicke told reporters it's difficult to guess the timetable on an oblique injury.
"I think it's good to know exactly what we're dealing with we can figure out exactly how to treat it," Braun said, according to The Journal Sentinel. "The primary purpose of the MRI was to figure out where the primary issue is so we can figure out what to do with it.
"I get treatment twice a day and hope for the best and see what happens. That's all you can do with these things. I'll get treatment as much as I can and do what we can to make it better."
In 22 games this season, the 30-year-old Braun is batting .318 with six homers and 18 RBI. He has a .952 OPS.
