"St. Louis Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright has flown back to St. Louis this morning to have his right elbow examined this afternoon after he experienced discomfort in the joint.

General manager John Mozeliak said he believes it is a "significant injury" and the early word is "not encouraging."

Tommy John surgery is one alternative to repair the damage that Wainwright is being checked for.

"After his bullpen on Monday he did feel something in his right elbow," Mozeliak said. "I can say just based on the initial evaluation from our training staff, things do not look encouraging. But before jump to any conclusions we'll just wait until the re-evaluation this afternoon."

Mozeliak said there would be an update Wednesday afternoon.

Wainwright finished second in the Cy Young voting and he won 20 games last season for the Cardinals. He and Cy Young Award-winner Roy Halladay were the only pitchers in the National League to finish in the top 10 in the major pitching categories."