Ryan Mattheus To Have Foot Examined

There may be another injury concern for the Washington Nationals to deal with, as it seems the relief pitcher Ryan Mattheus has been battling some discomfort in his left foot for the past two weeks. Initial reports seem to suggest that the injury does not appear serious though the severity to which Mattheus is hurt remains unclear.

Exactly how Mattheus first hurt his foot initially is not known, but by all accounts it appears that the condition is one that the team has known about for some time now. Prior to Monday’s game against the Phillies, Mattheus was running along the outfield warning track when “something didn’t quite feel right”, according to some quotes from Davey Johnson passed along by Chase Hughes of CSNWashington.com. The team’s medical staff had Mattheus undergo an MRI, though as of late last night the results were still uncertain. Mattheus is slated to see a foot specialist in Baltimore sometime Tuesday. Hopefully that meeting will give the team enough information in order to make a proper decision on how to proceed with handling the injury.

In 20.0 innings of work over 19 appearances Mattheus is 2-1 on the season with a 2.25 ERA. Should he need to spend some time on disabled list it could open a roster spot for Chien-Ming Wang, who’s rehab assignment is scheduled to end by the coming weekend. According to a Tweet from The Washington Post’s Adam Kilgore, Mattheus is likely suffering from plantar fasciitis. The best case scenario is that he is available out of the bullpen for tonight’s game. Worst case scenario, he misses about two weeks.