BOSTON, May 18 (UPI) -- Boston Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka was placed on the disabled list Wednesday with a sprained right elbow ligament, the team said.
Dr. Thomas Gill, the Red Sox's medical director, said a magnetic resonance imaging exam revealed the right-handed starter has a sprained ulnar collateral ligament.
The pitcher is expected to miss at least a month with the injury.
"Daisuke experienced tightness in his elbow during his last start," a statement from Gill said. "His examination is consistent with a sprained ulnar collateral ligament, and strain to his common flexor mass. A magnetic resonance imaging test was obtained which confirmed these exam findings. He will be re-examined in two weeks."
Matsuzaka told The Boston Globe the MRI results were much more serious than he had expected and indicated he could seek a second opinion.
Matsuzaka had the exam after yielding five runs on five hits over 4 1/3 innings while walking seven in Monday's 8-7 win over Baltimore.
