Barkley Receives Encouraging Medical Report : Pro basketball: Tests reveal NBA’s most valuable player does not have nerve damage.

Charles Barkley, who collapsed during wind sprints when his legs went numb, received an encouraging medical report Sunday night after a battery of tests and may return to training camp today.

Jerry Colangelo, president of the Phoenix Suns, said a magnetic resonance imaging, CAT-scan and neurological exam revealed that Barkley, who collapsed Saturday night, sustained no nerve damage. Barkley will not need surgery, but will have to reduce his workouts.

“Charles is doing very well,” Colangelo said Sunday night. “He will undergo one more test (Monday) morning and if the results are as positive as today’s, he could be back up here (Monday) night.”

Colangelo said the injury was to the fifth lumbar vertebrae and probably stemmed from thickening of the tendon that rubbed against a nerve.

Saturday, the NBA’s most valuable player was running with teammates after an hour scrimmage at training camp in Flagstaff when he suddenly pitched forward. He remained on the floor for more than 30 minutes before being helped to the locker room, where he was treated for an hour.

Barkley’s condition was diagnosed as a bulging disk in August but was treated with an epidural cortisone shot and reported no pain when preseason drills opened last Friday night.

Emerson examined Barkley at the start of practice Sunday and decided to take him to Phoenix for an MRI.

“My main concern right now is that the tests show my back is not any worse,” Barkley said before being helped into a van for the 140-mile trip. “The only way to do that is with an MRI. I just got to keep my legs out straight. When I don’t, they go numb.”

Barkley, obtained in a 1992 trade with Philadelphia, led the Suns to a franchise-record 62 victories last season and their first appearance in the NBA finals since 1976.