Morneau heads for home

By Staff and Wire Reports

Last update: June 25, 2007 - 6:18 PM

Twins first baseman Justin Morneau flew home from Florida this afternoon after spending three nights in a hospital in Florida.

The 2006 AL MVP was released this morning after another checkup on his bruised lung. He was injured in a home plate collision with Marlins catcher Miguel Olivo on Friday night.

General Manager Terry Ryan said he wasn't going to make a roster move "until our people [doctors] have a chance to get together with Justin, and we find out how sore he is. If we're fortunate here, we could have Justin back in a couple of days.''

The injury ended Morneau's streak of 191 consecutive games played, the fourth longest among active players.

Speaking before Monday night's game, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said he does not expect Morneau to require a stint on the disabled list.

"That's never been talked about," Gardenhire said. "I've been told a couple days here."

He added: "Everything checked out fine. Now it's going to depend on how sore he is and when he can get out in the field. As long as it continues on the path he's on, it's fine."

The Twins plan to run some tests on Morneau on Tuesday, just to see how his body reacted to the flight back from Florida. The manager said Morneau, who leads the team with 20 home runs this season, could return as early as Wednesday or Thursday "if he feels up to it."

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