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HOUSTON -- Red Sox right-hander Clay Buchholz was administered a platelet-rich plasma injection (PRP) to assist in the healing of the strained flexor muscle in his right elbow, manager John Farrell said Wednesday. Buchholz, placed on the 15-day disabled list on July 11 after walking off the mound midgame against the New York Yankees the night before, had flown to Pensacola, Florida, for a second opinion from orthopedist Dr. James Andrews, who also treated Buchholz two years ago when he was having shoulder issues. According to Farrell, Andrews confirmed the diagnosis by Red Sox team orthopedist Dr. Peter Asnis that Buchholz's ulnar collateral ligament was intact and also recommended a PRP injection. After consulting with Andrews, who had also spoken with Asnis, according to Farrell, Buchholz elected to have the injection Wednesday. PRP injections have increasingly been used as a treatment for soft-tissue injuries to tendons and ligaments. It is the same procedure that White Sox ace Chris Sale underwent last April, when he had a strained flexor. Sale was on the DL for 34 days but has been one of the best pitchers in baseball since. Boston pitcher Brandon Workman, diagnosed with a strained right elbow in April, had a PRP injection but ultimately required Tommy John surgery. Former Red Sox outfielder Carl Crawford also had a PRP injection before he, too, had Tommy John surgery on his left elbow in 2012. The Red Sox are of the belief that Buchholz's elbow has not sustained the kind of structural damage experienced by Workman and Crawford. Buchholz had twice played catch in recent days, but he has been shut down from all throwing indefinitely, Farrell said. "It's going to be a little bit of a shutdown time now as a result of the PRP injection,'' Farrell said. "The total time with that, the total time of shutdown, is yet to be determined.'' Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington said that it will be at least a few weeks before Buchholz is back.
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