Major League Baseball

Konerko still sidelined by back pain

Published Jun. 28, 2013 1:00 a.m. ET

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White Sox slugger Paul Konerko remains sidelined because of pain in the lower right side of his back.

Konerko had six painkilling injections on Friday, a day after an MRI, and was not available for the doubleheader against Cleveland. He said he was feeling "a little better" and hoped to be ready to play by the end of the weekend.

He planned to take swings Saturday and figured he'll know then whether he needs to go on the disabled list.

"If I do get to swing a bat tomorrow or test it out, I think at that point I would know," he said. "If I couldn't do it, I don't want to hold them up. I don't want to be holding the team hostage with one less guy. We'll see. I haven't tested it really at all. I'll be honest with them and let them know. If that's what needs to be done, that's what needs to be done."

Konerko played against Kansas City last Sunday and could barely stand the following morning. He felt "a little improvement" on Thursday and more on Friday but was not ready to play.

He said the MRI showed "some degeneration in one of the disks" but nothing unusual for an athlete.

"Usually, when you do something, you kind of stop in your tracks and know that you're going to have a problem on your hands — when you take a swing or you check your swing or something like that," Konerko said. "Didn't really see this one coming. I guess it was that hot and humid in Kansas City and (I was) that loose, maybe I did something and didn't even feel it."

Konerko is batting .253 with seven homers and 30 RBI.

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