Johnson to see New York hip specialist

 

WASHINGTON (AP) -Washington first baseman Nick Johnson will see a specialist in New York on Friday because of continued soreness in his right hip.
The first baseman is still recovering from a fractured right femur he sustained when colliding with outfielder Austin Kearns against the New York Mets on Sept. 23, 2006.
Johnson had surgery the night of the injury and continues rehabilitation, but hasn’t played this season. He is scheduled to see Dr. Bryan Kelly for an evaluation.
“It’s not a setback at all,” said Washington manager Manny Acta. “It’s normal. You broke one part of your body and you start favoring that part and some other part’s going to get sore.”
Washington general manager Jim Bowden also played down the visit.
“We just want to make sure that we’ve looked at every piece of medical information possible,” he said. “It may just be that he needs more time to heal. I don’t want to leave anything untouched. It’s just precautionary to make sure we’re all set.”
Bowden said the pain is at the point where a rod was inserted after the injury. There’s still no timetable for Johnson’s return.
“The leg is healed, the knee is now fine,” Bowden said. “We just can’t get over the hump with the hip.”