The results of an MRI taken Tuesday show that Phillies pitcher Brett Myers has a Grade 1 shoulder strain of the lattissimus dorsi muscle in his upper back. This puts Myers’ status for the remainder of the season into uncertainty.

Myers will not attempt to throw again until next Tuesday, which is just five days before the end of the regular season.

A hip injury was discovered in Myers in mid-may. He underwent surgery in early June and was expected to miss the rest of the season. Myers, however, rehabbed ahead of schedule and returned to the Phillies on September 5. He pitched scoreless baseball in the first four of the five outings since his return. However, in his last time out he allowed three runs in just one third of an inning.

The strain was discovered last Sunday after the series finale in Atlanta. The plan is, according to GM Ruben Amaro, to keep Myers on the shelf until he is healthy.

On the other side of the plate, catcher Carlos Ruiz flew back to Philadelphia Wednesday to meet with team doctors Michael Ciccotti and Randall Culp.

Ruiz suffered a sprained wrist Friday night in Atlanta in a play at the plate when Matt Diaz stepped on his hand. He sat out of Saturday and Sunday’s games, but returned for the second half of Tuesday’s double header against the Marlins. Despite claiming to feel much better on Tuesday, he left the game in the seventh inning.

Manager Charlie Manuel said that Ruiz re-injured his wrist, but downplayed the severity of the injury.

Paul Bako will now, once again, take over the catching duties, with Paul Hoover serving as his backup. Hoover has spent all season with Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

Ruiz is expected to re-join the team later this week in Milwaukee, pending the results of his examination.