Gwynn to Get More Tests on Finger

Padre outfielder Tony Gwynn didn’t want to speculate on the severity of the injury to his right index finger Sunday after returning to San Diego.

Gwynn fractured the tip of the finger during a 5-3 Padre victory in Atlanta Saturday night.

“I might be able to play, I might miss the rest of the season, I might need an operation,” Gwynn said in local television interview. “We really don’t know, because the X-rays I brought back from Atlanta don’t tell the whole story.”

Gwynn will undergo further tests today at Scripps Clinic in La Jolla, after X-rays there Sunday confirmed the fracture. A Padre spokesman said a CAT scan will be performed to reveal whether Gwynn sustained any damage to the first joint of the finger.

The outcome of that examination is likely to determine his status for the rest of the season. The spokesman said Gwynn will either rejoin the Padres when they open a series in Los Angeles Wednesday or be lost for the season.

The injury occured in the third inning Saturday when Gwynn tried to catch Jeff Treadway’s fly ball against the right-field wall at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Gwynn said the tip of the finger cracked when he slammed his right hand into the wall. He left the game immediately and was taken to a hospital for X-rays.