Harrison Undergoes Second Surgery

It's starting to seem more and more like Matt Harrison might not pitch again this year, although the Texas Rangers are still saying they're confident he'll return sometime after the all-star break.

That's because Harrison was forced to go under the knife for the second time in as many weeks on Wednesday to repair another herniation in the same disk in his back.

Apparently the setback is a common one, but it's still a scary thought to undergo two back surgeries in a matter of nine day, but as Rangers GM Jon Daniels told the Associated Press, Harrison felt better pretty much immediately after the procedure.

"Up to that point basically he had no discomfort in his leg," Daniels said. "Similar to last time, he came out of it with flying colors, feels great now. Obviously he felt great last time for eight days ... I don't think it's that uncommon, but obviously we would have preferred he didn't have to have it cleaned up."

Daniels said he was unsure how, if at all, the second procedure would affect Harrison's timeline for a return, which originally was set for a few months — or sometime between the all-star break and Aug. 1.

After two rough starts in which Harrison said he felt stiffness in his back and weakness in his leg, the 18-game winner from a year ago was put on the disabled list and had his first surgery back on April 23. He's in the first year of a five-year, $55 million deal he was given in the off-season.

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