Angels’ Mike Trout dealing with rare back condition

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The timetable for Mike Trout’s return is not getting any clearer with each passing day.

Angels head athletic trainer Mike Frostad said Wednesday that Trout is improving, but he still has at least a week to go before feeling the full benefits of the cortisone injection he received last week. In the meantime, he will continue to work on core stability and do cardio workouts, without any baseball activity.

Trout’s injury was first diagnosed as back spasms when he left a game July 12. A week later, when the Angels placed him on the injured list, they announced it was rib cage inflammation. Frostad explained that the muscle spasms around the inflammation to protect it. Frostad said it’s technically a “costovertebral dysfunction at T5.”