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Early reports on Chris Carpenter were that he might miss the entire season after having surgery early in 2012 to help with a nerve problem. He has been recovering quite well throughout the course of the season and now it looks like that Carpenter may be able to return to the Cardinals before the end of the season after all.
On Tuesday, Carpenter had a bullpen session with Pete Kozma, Adron Chambers and Ryan Jackson prior to the team's game against the New York Mets. Carpenter has said that he doesn't rule out a comeback in 2012:
"I knew going into it that I was going to do everything I could without taking a chance of risking next year, " said Carpenter. "I knew coming out of (the surgery) that I had a shot as long as I could get myself back in shape and ready to go and prove to everybody that I was strong enough to do it.
Getting Carpenter back would be a great boost to the Cards as they push toward a Wild Card spot this season and attempt to defend their World Series championship. Of course, the team is clearly being very careful with him, so there are no guarantees that he'll suit up for a game this year.
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