Jeff Goldstein, director of Spine Service at NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases, said he expects David Wright’s stress fracture to only keep him out of action for two weeks, but admitted the third baseman might be a candidate for long-term back pain.
“Not knowing exactly where the stress fracture is, I would anticipate that after two weeks his pain would be better and he would be able to play,” Goldstein told The Post.
Goldstein was careful to point out that he has not seen Wright’s medical records, so he cannot be certain about his forecasts. But in terms of Wright’s possibility for long-term back woes, Goldstein said: “Is he a risk for having recurring pain? Yeah, he’s at risk.”
Arnold Criscitiello, a spine surgeon with Ridgewood (N.J.) Orthopedic Group, told The Post that it also is possible Wright’s back problem will recur and it could sideline him again. Criscitiello said a stress fracture most often is “really a crack in a bone,” and he admitted the crack “will probably always” exist.
Criscitiello believes Wright is looking at a minimum of his 15-day disabled list stint. He said ideally it would be more of a 4-to-6-week, take-your-time recovery.
“I would say at least two weeks and then they try to evaluate him,” Criscitiello said.
Goldstein said Wright’s recovery would involve resting and doing physical therapy, and neither spine expert believed surgery would be a likely option. Criscitiello called it “a possibility but a far shot,” while Goldstein said, “Not unless the pain didn’t subside.”
Criscitiello wondered if Wright has actually had this stress fracture for years. The surgeon explained that the most common back stress fracture involves the pars bone and the majority of pars bone stress fractures occur when people are kids — those people, however, typically aren’t aware of it until something triggers it later in their lives. Criscitiello said an adult who suddenly broke a pars bone would essentially be in agony.
“Chances are, this player as an adult may have had this injury years ago as a kid and never really realized it,” Criscitiello said.
mark.hale@nypost.com