LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles Dodgers infielder Justin Turner thought he might have been bitten by a bug.
“I scratched it and it got bigger and bigger,” Turner said of the skin irritation on his right thigh. “It was pretty swollen and there was substantial redness.”
So when the Dodgers got back from their 10-day road trip following the All-Star break, Turner went to Stan Conte, the Dodgers’ head trainer.
“Stan told me I had to get to the emergency room,” Turner said.
It turns out Turner had an ingrown hair that had become infected. He was diagnosed with MRSA – (Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus), a type of staph infection that is difficult to treat and can be very serious if it spreads.
“It was scary. It’s not a joking matter,” Turner said. “If it spreads over your whole body or gets into your organs or anything, that’s a pretty scary situation.”
The infection was treated with medication and the site was lanced. Turner went on the DL. Most frustrating for him, he could not do anything that would produce sweat and possibly re-infect the open wound.
So when Turner worked out, he would take five swings then sit down, take five more swings and so on. Every 45 minutes, his dressing had to be replaced.
“It turned a workout that would normally last an hour and a half into 3 1/2 hours,” he said.
The site has healed over and Turner was cleared to take full batting practice over the weekend. He rejoined the Dodgers on Tuesday and went through a full workout Wednesday.
He should be activated from the DL on Thursday or Friday.
“Tomorrow would be awesome but if they’re going to be on the cautious side, then it’ll be Friday,” Turner said.