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Craig diagnosed with sprained, not fractured, foot

CINCINNATI -- First baseman Allen Craig was diagnosed with a sprain in his left foot on Thursday after undergoing X-rays and an MRI.

The evaluation, performed by Dr. Joshua Nadaud, a foot and ankle specialist from Mercy Hospital in St. Louis, determined that there is no fracture in the foot. Craig will wear a walking boot for protection and is to be re-evaluated early next week by Nadaud and the Cardinals' medical staff.

Craig sustained the injury while rounding first base on what was scored as an infield single in the fourth inning of St. Louis' 5-4, 16-inning win on Wednesday at Cincinnati.

Manager Mike Matheny is pleased with the diagnosis.

"There's no fracture," Matheny said. "That's a big positive for us."

Especially since Craig was in so much pain that he couldn't even try to get back to first before being tagged out by Reds' first baseman Joey Votto.

"When you watch him go down like that and then need help getting off the field, you wonder if he's ever going to play again," Matheny said. "Now it's more optimistic."

With Craig out, first-base duties are being handled by Matt Adams, who hit a pair of extra-inning homers in Wednesday's win but went 0-for-3 in Thursday's loss.

Mark Schmetzer is a contributor to MLB.com.
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