Mets' Santana suffers rehab setback

NEW YORK, Aug. 2 (UPI) -- Injured New York Mets pitcher Johan Santana has suffered a rehabilitation setback and discomfort in his left shoulder will be checked, the team said Tuesday.

Mets General Manager Sandy Alderson told reporters Santana's hoped for minor-league start set for Monday was scrubbed and he was instead being flown from Port St. Lucie, Fla., to New York to check out "lingering discomfort" in his pitching shoulder.

"I can't really characterize it as pain versus discomfort versus typical soreness," Alderson told MLB.com. "Whatever it is, it's sufficient in nature that he wants to have it checked."

Santana, a two-time Cy Young Award winner, threw three scoreless innings Thursday in Florida to begin a rehab stint that targeted a late August return to the Mets.

The setback, however, means he's unlikely to return before September at the earliest, the Web site reported.

The left-hander had surgery last September to repair a torn anterior capsule in his left shoulder.