Tigers' Avila feels 'disorientated' swinging the bat

Alex Avila doesn't appear to be improving from his latest head injury, putting his status for this weekend's pivotal series against the Kansas City Royals in jeopardy.

The Detroit Tigers catcher remains sidelined Friday for the opener of a three-game set at Kauffman Stadium after feeling "disorientated" the last couple days doing light cage work, according to MLB.com's Jason Beck.

Manager Brad Ausmus previously stated Avila would have to prove he is symptom-free for at least one full day before making his return. Avila, who has a history of concussions and head trauma, will likely be held out of the lineup until next week at the earliest.

"'Concussion’ is kind of tough to empirically define, but he’s showing after-effects of a concussion," Ausman said, via The Associated Press. "Until he goes through activities without any side-effects, we probably won’t be able to use him."

The injury is believed to have occurred Sunday after the Tigers backstop was struck in the mask by a foul ball. It was the second such occurrence in the last month for Avila, who also suffered concussions in each of the previous two seasons.