text How long will Rafael Furcal's elbow sideline him? (AP)

If you weren't previously concerned about Rafael Furcal's injured elbow, then you now should be. Courtesy of Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, here's what Furcal had to say about the injury that has limited him during camp:

"What do you want me to do? It’s not getting better. I wish I could do whatever I could to make it better, so I could play. ... It’s very disappointing. I tried to push it a little harder. We’d better back up a little bit because I feel more pain."

Furcal went on to say he doesn't know whether he'll be in playing shape by opening day.

Hummel later notes that Furcal has been shut down from all baseball activities and will undergo an examination on Monday. A Thursday MRI previously showed new damage to his elbow. The 35-year-old shortstop has been coping with a bone spur as well as a compromised ulnar collateral ligament. Given Furcal's age and injury history (he has been on the DL nine times in his career), you can be forgiven for entertaining worst-case scenarios.

Furcal is coming off a season in which he batted .264/.325/.346 with 12 stolen bases. For his career, the three-time All-Star owns a slash line of .281/.346/.403 with 113 home runs. If Furcal is sidelined for the start of the season (which seems highly likely), then Pete Kozma would likely fill in.

For more baseball news, rumors and analysis, follow @EyeOnBaseball on Twitter, subscribe to the RSS feed and "like" us on Facebook. Also, individually interact with us on Twitter: @MattSnyder27, @daynperry and @mikeaxisa.