It has been roller coaster ride for the Red Sox when it comes to dealing with David Price's elbow injury.

Things have gone from bad to good, and now back to bad.

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The Boston Herald reported on Tuesday that Price's arm is weaker than it was before he reported to spring training.

The starter has lost enough strength in his arm to where he is weaker than he was when he reported to spring training, the team said today. And until he regains that strength, he cannot begin -- never mind ramp up -- his throwing program. With fewer than two weeks to go before the season begins, Price's absence is going to stretch at least into mid-to-late April. If his arm does not begin to rebound in the coming days, Price's absence could even stretch into May. After being re-examined today in Fort Myers, the Red Sox decided that Price (strained flexor mass, inflammation) had yet to meet strength benchmarks.

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Price's injury isn't a huge blow to the Red Sox, as the team still has one of the best rotations in baseball even without its high-paid player. Still, Price is weeks — perhaps over a month — from returning.

"We’re going to continue to stay in the strengthening phase of this,” Boston manager John Farrell said Tuesday. “We’re continuing to get his arm moving in the cage, in the workout room. But as far as initiating a full-blown throwing program, we’re not at that point yet. We’re getting closer. That’ll be happening ideally in the coming days.”

The fear with Price is that his recent workload has contributed to the elbow injury. He led the league in innings pitched in 2016 and 2014, and was seventh in 2015.

Price inked a seven-year, $217 million deal with the Red Sox in 2015, but his numbers didn't back validate his price last season: His 3.99 ERA ranked third among Red Sox starting pitchers and 40th in Major League Baseball.