MILWAUKEE -- Ben Sheets and the Brewers got what the right-hander qualified as "bad news" on Tuesday, that Sheets will be sidelined 4-6 weeks by his injured middle finger.
A second test confirmed that Sheets has a slight tear to tissue surrounding the tendon that controls the finger's motion. That was the news the Brewers had been hoping for, believing that would cause Sheets to miss only two weeks.
But according to assistant general manager Gord Ash, head team physician William Raasch conferred with a number of specialists on Tuesday who recommended a complete shutdown for the next 10-14 days before a course of rehab is considered. That wait will significantly slow Sheets' return to a first-place Brewers team desperately trying to hold off the Chicago Cubs.