Harvey to decide on surgery in next few days

NEW YORK - All of a sudden, the New York Mets face this sobering uncertainty: Matt Harvey might never be a healthy ace again.

The struggling star has symptoms consistent with thoracic outlet syndrome and could require season-ending surgery to treat a serious condition that has jeopardized the careers of other major league pitchers.

General manager Sandy Alderson announced the unusual diagnosis Thursday after Harvey was examined in St. Louis by a specialist, Dr. Robert Thompson. Alderson said a decision on surgery is expected in the next few days before the All-Star break.

''I think you can bounce back from it, but everybody's different, as we know, anytime you have surgery. So there's a level of concern,'' Mets manager Terry Collins said. ''But certainly, you can't be very excited about it. You just don't know.''

Thoracic outlet syndrome is a condition caused by the compression of nerves, blood vessels or both in the area between the neck and armpit. After his start Monday, the 27-year-old Harvey complained of some common symptoms, which include numbness in fingers and shoulder discomfort.

The former ace was seen by Mets doctors, referred to Thompson for further examination and placed on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday, retroactive to Tuesday.

''His arm just felt like it was dead,'' Collins said.

Another temporary treatment option is a ''nerve-block injection'' that might help Harvey return to the mound fairly quickly, but surgery is probably inevitable and the operation usually requires a four-month recovery period, Alderson said.

''Again, anytime that you introduce a significant surgery of this type, I think you have to be cautious about what will happen,'' Alderson said. ''But at the same time, I fully expect that Matt will be back and ready to go in 2017.''

Harvey, who missed the 2014 season following Tommy John surgery on his elbow, is 4-10 in 17 starts with a 4.86 ERA - 80th among 99 qualifying pitchers in the majors.