Padres' Yu Darvish Calls Current Ailment 'Complicated' and Says He 'Can't Talk About it'

First, the good news. San Diego Padres pitcher Yu Darvish played catch last week. Afterward, he told Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune that his right elbow was "getting better every day."

Now, the bad.

Darvish still hasn't gotten off a mound in a game that counts since his May 14 rehabilitation start with Triple-A El Paso. And, when given a chance to quiet the whispers about the severity of his injury, he declined.

"I can't talk about it. It's pretty complicated," Darvish told Kevin Acee of the Union-Tribune.

"We need to find a new routine," he added.

A new routine carries less worry than season-ending surgery, among other remedies, but it's no more encouraging for fans hoping to see Darvish return in short order.

Inflammation in the elbow can be both a symptom and a cause of an injury. If it's a symptom of something more serious going on in Darvish's elbow, neither he nor any team personnel have confirmed as much publicly.

Darvish made two starts for the Padres in spring training prior to being shut down. In those Cactus League starts, Darvish allowed six hits, three runs, and three walks across 6.2 innings.

Although Darvish was told he had no damage to his ligament and did not need surgery, the Padres opted for a conservative approach in getting Darvish back to their active roster.

Almost three months later, they're still waiting.

Former Padres closer Heath Bell recently hinted the underlying cause of Darvish's injury was more severe than mere inflammation.

"There's something going on that maybe nobody wants to tell us," Bell told Kyle Glaser on Friars Territory last week. "Maybe there's a slight tear that nobody wants to talk about. ... I don't know."