"Phillies left fielder Raul Ibanez has some advice for Red Sox center fielder Mike Cameron on how to cope with a lower abdominal tear that eventually may require surgery: Grit your teeth and try to block out the pain.

"You wake up in the morning and you say to yourself, 'How am I going to make it through one day?' " Ibanez, who suffered the same injury last season and played through it until he underwent surgery in November, said prior to last night's 5-0 Red Sox win. "You figure out a way."

Cameron has been on the disabled list since April 20. He had hoped to return last week during a two-game series against the Yankees in New York, but after experiencing tenderness in his abdominal region, a minor league rehab assignment was extended.

According to Ibanez, the injury, commonly known as a "sports hernia," can be rehabbed through exercise to minimize the discomfort. But the pain may not subside completely without surgery.

Although Cameron said he's talked with several athletes who have had the injury, Ibanez hasn't heard from Cameron, a teammate with the Seattle Mariners in 2000. Cameron isn't with the Sox for the interleague series with the Phillies. After playing Friday night at Double-A Portland, Cameron took yesterday off and is scheduled to play again today before being re-evaluated."