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MRI shows White Sox 1B Konerko has sprained MCL
By RICK GANO, AP Sports Writer
Sep 10, 2008 - 7:57:38 PM

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CHICAGO - Paul Konerko has a sprained medial collateral ligament in his right knee, and the first baseman isn't sure when he'll be able to play again as the Chicago White Sox try to hang onto the AL Central lead.

Chicago White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko holds his right knee after participating in a rundown of Toronto Blue Jays' Alex Rios in the fifth inning during the second game of a baseball doubleheader in Chicago, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2008. Konerko left the game. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)


Konerko had an MRI on Wednesday that confirmed the mild sprain. He was injured in the fifth inning Tuesday night against Toronto when his foot slipped while making a throw to second base.

Konerko called it "a little quirky play" after getting treatment on his knee Wednesday.

"I have no idea when I'll get back in," he said. "It's different if this happened in April or May. You might wait until there was no pain. I'll just wait until I can function and if there is some pain, that's fine. ... We're fighting here for a spot in the playoffs, but you got to be able to function when you hit. The move I got to make with my back knee is the move that would hurt right now."

Konerko's injury is the latest in a series of ailments for the White Sox, who led the Twins by one game in the AL Central before Wednesday's action. AL home run leader Carlos Quentin has a broken right wrist and third baseman Joe Crede a sore back.

When he saw Konerko collapse on the infield writing in pain, manager Ozzie Guillen said his first reaction was that he would be gone for the season.

"I think he is out for good," Guillen said. "That happened to me. When I went down like that, I was out for the season."

Guillen said it was a relief to find out it was only a sprain — the initial finding after a doctor's exam Tuesday night. X-rays had been negative.

"Hopefully Paulie comes back soon," Guillen said. "We still have the talent to perform a different way. Crede is not there, Quentin is not there, Paulie is not there. We have to execute better. ...Everybody has to step up three notches."

Konerko, who was on the disabled list earlier this season with an oblique injury, was just starting to shake a season-long slump. He was batting .356 in his previous 28 games to raise his average from .212 to .244. He also had one stretch in which he homered in three straight games.

The White Sox moved Nick Swisher from left field to first Wednesday night and used DeWayne Wise in left field.

"You see guys like Carlos and Joe out of the lineup," Konerko said. "When those guys went down, I was in the lineup and you don't think about that. You think about winning the game that night. Guys tonight will think the same, whether I'm there or not."


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