BOSTON -- New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira was been sent back Monday to New York for more tests on his bruised right shin and will not be available for this week's series against the Red Sox at Fenway Park.
Manager Joe Girardi revealed the news before Monday night's 4-3 loss.
"He's not getting better," Girardi said. "He woke up today and was still sore, so we sent him back, kind of just to re-do the tests to make sure. We're not happy with where we're at, so we're just trying to get him healthy."
Teixeira, who leads the club with 31 home runs and 79 RBIs, suffered the bruise when he fouled a ball off his shin in the sixth inning of a game against the Minnesota Twins at Yankee Stadium on Aug. 17. He has started one game and made one pinch-hitting appearance since the injury.
A battery of tests, including X-rays, an MRI and a CT scan, showed no fracture, just a deep bone bruise on the shin. The Yankees sent Teixeira back to New York to have all the tests redone to rule out the possibility that a fracture was missed in the area.
"I've asked a couple times about of that," Girardi said. "I said, 'Is there any way that the MRI could have missed a crack or the CT scan or the X-ray?' I even asked, 'Could it be hidden somehow?' They said, 'We don't think so.' "
Still, Teixeira's injury has lingered beyond expectations. At the time of the injury, the Yankees believed Teixeira would recover in a matter of days and chose not to put him on the disabled list. But over the weekend in Atlanta, Teixeira said he still could not run on it and was re-examined by the Braves team physician.
Now, with rosters expanding to 40 on Tuesday, there is no need to put Teixeira on the DL, but there are lingering questions about when, if at all, he will return to the Yankees lineup with the team engaged in a race with the Toronto Blue Jays for the AL East championship.
"I've been told nothing that would lead me to believe that," general manager Brian Cashman said when asked if he thought Teixeira could be lost for the remainder of the season.
"If it's only what it's supposed to be, then I don't have a concern because it's supposed to be a resolving situation," Cashman said. "The Atlanta doctor said it usually could take up two weeks, so now we're in that arena. So maybe one day he wakes up, and it gets better soon enough."
In Teixeira's absence, rookie Greg Bird has filled in adequately at first base, and Girardi raised the possibility that Alex Rodriguez could fill in at the position in an emergency. But Cashman appeared to shoot that down, saying he would go with third baseman Chase Headley ahead of Rodriguez there.
"I don't really look at Alex as anything but a DH," Cashman said. "I haven't talked to Alex, but my gut is that he's not all that comfortable there."