SAN DIEGO -- There weren't any surprises on Tuesday when Boston Red Sox knuckleballer Steven Wright got a second opinion on his balky right shoulder. But there also wasn't any guarantee that Wright will pitch again this season.
Wright met with Los Angeles-based orthopedic surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who confirmed the diagnosis of the Red Sox medical staff that the right-hander has inflammation in his throwing shoulder but no structural damage.
"It's definitely peace of mind more than anything, because having two doctors explain to you the same exact thing from looking at the same MRI, it's definitely encouraging," Wright said. "Now it's just a matter of tolerating the pain and taking it day by day and not getting too far ahead of ourselves."
Wright was cleared to resume throwing as a result of the confirmation, when the soreness in his shoulder subsides, according to Red Sox manager John Farrell. When that might be and whether Wright will make another start before the end of the season has not been determined.
"I don't have that answer yet," Farrell said.
Wright was upbeat at the prospect of returning.
"If it happens, great," Wright said. "I'm not going to say yes and know that I'm going to pitch, because I don't know. Hopefully, but you never know."
Wright was slated to start Tuesday night against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. But he suggested last weekend that he had been pitching at about "50 percent" in two starts since returning from the freak injury, which occurred when he dove back into second base and jammed his shoulder in a pinch-running appearance Aug. 7 at Dodger Stadium. Wright has allowed nine runs on 14 hits in 10 innings over his past two starts.
According to Farrell, ElAttrache gave no indication that Wright did more damage to his shoulder by returning too soon.
"The fact is, there's no further injury, which again we were confident in the initial diagnosis that there wasn't anything structural that was going to hinder or prevent him from pitching or put him in a position where he was doing additional harm," Farrell said. "That's not denying he's still feeling the effects from that in the last two outings. We've just got to let it quiet down."
With Wright unable to pitch, Clay Buchholz returned to the rotation in his place Tuesday night.
Before the injury, Wright was in the midst of his career-best season, even earning a spot on the American League All-Star team. In 24 starts, he is 13-6 with a 3.33 ERA.