Dr. James Gladstone talks about Zack Greinke

GLENDALE, Ariz. – The Dodgers and Zack Greinke appear to be running against time to get the right-hander to make his first scheduled start of the regular season, but they’re not convinced just yet.

Greinke, the team’s big offseason signing, missed the past week because of inflammation in his right elbow before resuming throwing Friday. He hopes to recover in time to start April 2 against the San Francisco Giants, but could be forced to push back his Dodgers debut.

On Monday, Greinke flew to L.A. to visit with team physician Neil ElAttrache and undergo platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy in the injured elbow. He then took the next three days off before playing catch with Dodgers vice president of medical services Stan Conte on Friday.

With that in mind, it’s conceivable Greinke could be ready to throw a bullpen session early next week based on the precedent for PRP recoveries, according to Dr. James Gladstone, an orthopedic surgeon and co-chief of sports medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York.

“If you’re fixing something like inflammation with PRP, that can happen very quickly,” Gladstone said in a telephone interview. “As long as you’re not over-stressing the area, the effects can be good and you don’t have to be as protective. If you’re trying to get a partially torn tendon to heal, then a lot of factors come into play.”

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