Ryan Howard: Achilles 'felt like it was on fire'

The early prognosis on Ryan Howard is not good.

He's being told that he might have a torn left Achilles' tendon. An MRI is scheduled for later today.

Howard injured himself on the final at-bat of Friday's Game 5 loss to the Cardinals. The Phillies slugger hit just .105 in the series and was hitless in his final 15 at-bats with six strikeouts.

"I was trying to run and I felt this pop and the whole thing went numb, like it was on fire," he said. "It literally felt like I had a flat tire. I tried to get up and I just couldn't go."

It's the second consecutive disappointing end to a season for Howard, who struck out looking to end last year's NLCS. This was worse, because Howard turns 32 in November and is facing a very uncertain offseason of injury rehab. He had had problems with his ankle throughout the year.

He was on crutches following the game and struggled mightily to get dressed. Ever try to put a pair of pants on with an injury ankle? It's not easy. He was understandably dejected as he spoke to reporters afterward.

"They think it might be torn, so we'll see what happens; get the MRI to confirm it," said Howard, who has had bursitis in the troubled ankle all season. He wasn't sure if those problems contributed to what happened Friday night."

Howard swung hard on Chris Carpenter's 2-2 pitch and grounded to second. He took three, maybe four steps out of the box and crumpled.

"I thought I hit the ball better than I did. I thought it was in the outfield," he said. "I tripped and tried to get up. The adrenaline in me was kind of going. I looked up and saw (second baseman Nick) Punto had the ball and had thrown it and I couldn't go. I couldn't feel anything in my ankle. It sucks. It sucks."