Agassi gets second cortisone injection

In more not-so-good news about Andre Agassi's health, he received a second cortisone injection for his back pain. While he didn't have to play today due to yet another rain-out in New York, he will have to play back to back matches on Sunday and Monday. Worse yet, his opponent Monday might be Andy Roddick - which promises to be a potentially difficult match.

Agassi went to a hospital to have a cortisone shot Tuesday after his first-round victory over Andrei Pavel; Agassi's trainer, Gil Reyes, estimated he's had eight to 10 such injections over the past four years. Then, his back too painful for a car ride after the Baghdatis match, Agassi had a tournament doctor go to his hotel Friday to give him anti-inflammatory medicine.

On Saturday, Agassi practiced for about 45 minutes at an indoor court about 15 miles away, then arrived at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center shortly before 2 p.m. He left 1 1/2 hours later, having received the latest injection, and Reyes said Agassi probably would have another Sunday.

As Agassi entered the locker room alone Saturday, he was walking much better than he did after the Baghdatis match, when he was hunched over and hobbling. It was so tough to stand then that Agassi took a moment to lie down on his back on the concrete outside while waiting to be picked up for the ride to his hotel.

"He's sore. He's tired and inspired," Reyes said. "It matters to him. I'm overwhelmed how important it is to him. All summer it was about getting him here. Now it's about getting him on the court and his bringing what he has to the court and leaving it on the court."
Yahoo

Agassi wouldn't dare have this many shots of cortisone if it weren't the end of his tennis career - when I had one for ankle pain, the doctor went into a lot of detail how having too much can end up weakening the areas that need strengthening.