Andre Ethier returns to L.A. for testing; his playoff status is uncertain Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier has returned to Los Angeles to see team surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache after he was unable to run the bases Tuesday. Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times / September 12, 2013 September 25, 2013, 6:27 p.m. SAN FRANCISCO -- Andre Ethier returned to Los Angeles to visit team surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache Wednesday, prompting Dodgers Manager Don Mattingly to acknowledge that Ethier's status for the playoffs was in question. Ethier hasn't started a game since Sept. 13, as he has been sidelined with shin splints on the lower part of his left leg. Ethier recently underwent exams that determined he didn't have a stress fracture. But the Dodgers were concerned with how Ethier was unable to run the bases Tuesday and sent him back to Los Angeles. "Just to be able to rule out there's not something major going on," Mattingly said. Mattingly admitted he was concerned. "Does it worry me?" he said. Yeah, I'm a little worried about him just because it didn't look very good yesterday and he wasn't running very hard when it happened. All season, Mattingly has fielded questions about what he'll do when outfielder Ethier, Matt Kemp, Yasiel Puig and Carl Crawford are all healthy. "It keeps getting worked out for me," Mattingly said. Hopefully, I have that problem. I'd like to have that problem to deal with.