Ryan Church returned to New York last night and is currently being examined today after complaining of what doctors initially believed to be a severe migraine headache on Saturday. Church, who missed 23 days with post-concussion symptoms, was not doing much better on Sunday, when he said he felt like he had been in a "car accident."
A Mets spokesman said this morning that no decision had been made yet on whether Church would rejoin the team for tonight's series finale in Philadelphia, but that now seems unlikely.
****** UPDATE (7:30 p.m.) ********
The update is ... there is no update. GM Omar Minaya spoke with reporters before tonight's game but did not really shed any light on the situation. Church was examined today by the team's doctors at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan, but the Mets have no timetable for his return and did not reveal whether his recent headaches are related to post-concussion syndrome.
Comments (9)
Church should not think about baseball until at least September...two months off will definitely help...is it me or does it seem like the Mets are rushing him back into the line-up???
Since giving him three weeks off, I think the Mets have done a better job handling the Church situation, which has proved very difficult to read. I don't expect him in the lineup tonight.
David- Any word on what those tests showed? IS it just a migraine? OR, are we back to post-concussion symptoms?
Hey Bill .. Still waiting for word on this, but any time there's a head condition -- migraine, concussion -- it's always a serious issue. It wouldn't surprise me if he's dealing with those post-concussion symptoms again, but obviously, I'm not a neurologist. We should know something soon.
METROPOLITAN... I don't think the Mets are rushing him at all. This is the first year of his career where he was an everyday starter. He's competitive and wants to prove that he belongs in the lineup every day.
I hope the team keeps him out of the lineup until he feels 100%. I don't want to see a guy lose his career trying to come back too early. If Newsday wants to seek out an opinion on Post-Concussion syndrome, try Chris Nowitzki, former WWE wrestler. His career was cut short by concussions and he suffered sever post-concussion syndrome which it seems Church is experiencing as well. I believe he is spearheading a research team on the long term effects concussions have on the brain.
In the mean time, any chatter on the Mets contingency plan if Church is out for a while? I have heard Raul Ibanez talk on the Fan a lot the last few days.
The Mets and their medical staff deserve nothing but scorn for the way they handled the Church situation from the beginning. They allowed him to make the decision on whether to play or not, rather than allowing an MD to evaluate him first. Its possible if they did a better job, he would be fine now.
the idiots on this post are not DOCTORS for heaven sakes. so all of you shut up and see what the tests show.
well, i am a doctor (neuroradiologist), and i can tell you Joe & BoredatWork that concussions are amongst the hardest conditions to diagnose because most often there are no "hard" signs. MRI and CT scans are negative over 90% of the time. it's very difficult to gauge the severity of the injury - and people respond very differently. with Church's history of migrane, he is at a disadvantage for quick recovery. that said, from the sidelines, i feel that the Mets medical staff has done nothing wrong in their management of Ryan Church.
I wish him a speedy and full recovery