SURPRISE, Ariz. - Even though it's unlikely Matt Harrison will be ready for Opening Day the Texas Rangers got good news on their left-hander Monday.
The MRIs for his stiff lower back came back clean and there was no sign of disk problems for Harrison, who was examined by Dr. Drew Dossett in Dallas.
Harrison received a nerve-block injection in the right side neck because of stiffness caused by a bad bed. He's expected to fly back to Arizona Tuesday and should be back on a throwing program Thursday.
I'm happy I got a clean bill of health from the doc," Harrison said. "I'm excited there were no issues and just eager to get going again. He (Dossett) agreed it was the soft mattress."
Harrison was limited to two starts last year because a herniated disk in his lower back led to a pair of surgeries.
Texas assistant general manager Thad Levine said the club is working on a throwing program for Harrison, but admitted that the team's 2012 pitcher of the year is likely out of the rotation to start the season.
"We do feel this likely puts him behind coming into the season," Levine said. "The nature of how far behind he is is yet to be determined based upon how he progresses through this throwing program. I think this was about as good news as we could have gotten. We're very optimistic about the near-term recovery for him."
