Detroit Tigers vs. Kansas City Royals - September 8

Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Justin Verlander (35) walks to the dugout after the top of the third inning against the Kansas City Royals at Comerica Park in Detroit on Sept. 8, 2014.

(Mike Mulholland | MLive Media Group)

DETROIT -- Turns out Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Justin Verlander recently underwent additional tests on his throwing arm. And one of those tests was an MRI exam.

Tigers head athletic trainer Kevin Rand confirmed Monday that Verlander had an MRI exam last Thursday, and said the results of the test confirmed the same diagnoses as Verlander's initial diagnosis: a strained right triceps.

The news comes a day after Tigers manager Brad Ausmus told reporters Sunday that Verlander was not scheduled to receive any further tests. Prior to Monday's announcement, it was widely believed that Verlander, who is on the 15-day disabled list for the first time in his career, had not received additional testing on his arm.

"Everyone thinks it's taking a little bit longer," Rand said. "We kinda never really put out there how long it was going to be. We just said we're taking various steps and see how he progresses."

Rand confirmed Verlander underwent an MRI exam Thursday, a day after his simulated game was cut short in Pittsburgh. Verlander, who hasn't appeared in a game since March 27 in a Grapefruit League start, was expected to throw at least four innings of 15 pitches each in the simulated game, but threw just 45 pitches before exiting his appearance early.

At the time, Verlander told reporters he didn't feel any pain in the triceps muscle, just some achiness and fatigue. But the soreness hasn't disappeared.

"When he wasn't able to make a step that we wanted, that's when we decided to dive into some testing at that point in time," Rand said. "Because it gave us a little bit more concern. But it turned out everything was as we expected from the beginning."

Despite an accurate initial diagnosis, there's question as to why the Tigers and Verlander elected to wait nearly three weeks after he suffered the injury to receive an MRI exam.

"We waited until we felt we needed to," said Rand, who said Verlander has not sought out the opinion of renown specialist Dr. James Andrews.

Verlander's throwing schedule has been shut down until the soreness in his right arm subsides. He was scheduled to throw light toss Sunday, but was instructed to rest his arm. There's no timeline for when he will restart his program.

"He's getting the best possible treatment that the Detroit Tigers have to offer, I can tell you that," Ausmus said. "We want him back as soon as possible."

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