Davis has no symptoms of infection

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla., March 5 (UPI) -- New York Mets first baseman Ike Davis likely has Valley Fever, the team says, but Manager Terry Collins says it probably won't affect his playing time.

Davis said Valley Fever is the "working diagnosis" -- tests have come back negative -- of the fungal disease doctors suspect he has but he said he's experienced no symptoms, the New York Daily News reported.

The infection occurs when spores of a fungus enter the body through the lungs but experts say most people never have symptoms. Valley Fever can cause cold- or flu-like symptoms or the same symptoms as pneumonia.

"If I had a cough or felt sick, I'd have maybe worries or something like that, but I feel great," Davis said. "It's kind of weird. I'm not coughing, I'm not throwing up blood, anything. It's not even hard to breathe."

A doctor told him he could play but to avoid getting extremely fatigued, he said.

In 2009, Conor Jackson, a former Diamondbacks outfielder, played only 30 games because of Valley Fever.

Mets General Manager Sandy Alderson said doctors had spotted something on Davis' chest X-ray that led to the "hypothesis" he had Valley Fever.

Davis is to undergo a follow-up test when the team returns to New York, Alderson said.