St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Kolten Wong has missed four consecutive games heading into play Friday dealing with an injured calf.
Despite his forced time off the field, Wong told MLB.com's Jennifer Langosch on Thursday that he felt 'optimistic' about returning sometime over the weekend after a successful running test on the calf didn't create any more issues.
The Cards aren't about to rush Wong back too quickly and risk injuring him further, he told Langosch: "They told me we're not going to push it. it does not make sense for me to come back too quick and risk injury. If I can fix this injury and get it cleared and finish the year strong, that's a better option than trying to push through it and do more damage than good."
St. Louis has been scuffling over the past few days but there's still no real need to endanger Wong by bringing him back too quickly. Langosch reported that MRI results on Wong's calf showed a slight tear, but he's still hoping to test the calf more on Friday and into the weekend as he eyes a return to the lineup.
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