Rolen May Have to Sit Out NLCS

Third baseman Scott Rolen of the St. Louis Cardinals could not raise his arm at the shoulder and had limited movement of his forearm after sustaining multiple sprains that could keep him out of the National League championship series, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Sunday.

“It still hurts pretty bad,” Rolen said.

The Cardinals open the NLCS Wednesday night.

Rolen injured his left shoulder during Thursday night’s playoff game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, including a severe hyperextension of the three ligaments supporting his clavicle, the newspaper reported, citing unidentified sources familiar with tests performed Friday.

Rolen, injured in a collision with Diamondback pinch-runner Alex Cintron, underwent an MRI that lasted more than two hours. The exam revealed sprains in four regions of his shoulder and collarbone.

He said surgery is not being considered.

“To put it at seven days, 10 days or 14 days is a bit premature,” Rolen said before Saturday night’s 6-3 victory in Game 3 of the division series.

“Right now, I’m just waiting for it stop hurting. I’m looking to make progress day by day. It’s kind of hard to think about playing when it feels like this.”

Cardinal Manager Tony La Russa said the MRI agreed with the original diagnosis “that there wasn’t a serious injury there ... that would require surgery. It’s a sprained shoulder and there isn’t any permanent-type damage that we found or anything like that.”