Schilling’s Status Is Uncertain

The medical director for the Boston Red Sox said Sunday that the effects of two innovative ankle surgeries over six days could preclude Curt Schilling from pitching again in the World Series.

According to an Associated Press report, Dr. Bill Morgan was concerned when Schilling experienced more pain during and immediately after the second procedure, performed Saturday in preparation for Schilling’s Game 2 start Sunday. He was scheduled to pitch again in Game 6, if it is necessary, in Boston.

“Honestly, we may not be able to do it a third time,” Morgan was quoted as saying. “It depends on what his tissues look like.

“He’s more uncomfortable because it’s the second time around. The line may be drawn there, depending on how he looks over the next five days.

“And he’d respect that if I said, ‘Curt, doing this is detrimental.’ He’d say, ‘All right, we can’t do it.’ Knowing him, he’d try to push through it with taping again and all that sort of thing.”

A sheath in Schilling’s right ankle is torn, and the tendon passes in and out of the gap, which causes Schilling’s pain. He is expected to undergo surgery in the off-season to repair the tear.

After Schilling’s short and ineffective start in Game 1 of the American League championship series, the Red Sox feared he would not be able to pitch again in the postseason.

Morgan, however, devised a procedure in which he would place sutures beneath the tendon, guiding it over the sheath and minimizing the pain, and Schilling went along. Between starts, Morgan removed the sutures, making the second -- and possibly a third -- procedure necessary.

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Fall Classically Trained

Curt Schilling is one of four Red Sox players with previous World Series experience. Schilling (with Arizona) and Mike Timlin (twice with Toronto) are the only players with World Series championships. A look at the four and the number of games played with their former teams:

*--* Player, years Team, experience * Manny Ramirez Cleveland 1995, 1997 13 games * Curt Schilling Philadelphia, Arizona 1993, 2001 Five pitching starts * Mike Timlin Toronto 1992-93 Four pitching appearances * Alan Embree Cleveland 1995 Four pitching appearances

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