Doc in probe says only gave A-Rod anti-inflammatories

TAMPA, Fla. - Asked last week if he ever dealt directly with the Canadian doctor under investigation in Canada and the United States, Alex Rodriguez didn't say yes or no.

"I can't get into that," A-Rod said then. "But you'll know within time, all at the same time."

That moment came Monday when Anthony Galea, a sports medicine doctor facing charges in his country, including the distribution of performance-enhancing drugs to professional athletes, told The Associated Press that he treated Rodriguez after the third baseman's hip surgery last season but prescribed only anti-inflammatories.

"He had a damaged hip. Inflamed. It was damaged," Galea said in an interview at his clinic. "He needed anti-inflammatories for his hip. I was basically helping in the rehab."

Rodriguez told reporters last week that he had been contacted by federal authorities regarding Galea, whose assistant was stopped at the U.S.-Canada border in September with human growth hormone and other drugs. Rodriguez had said that he planned to cooperate.

"This is about someone else,'' he said. "I'm going to cooperate as best I can and focus on baseball.''

Rodriguez, who went 1-for-3 with two RBIs in Bradenton Monday as part of a Yankees split team that beat the Pirates, 6-0, was not available for comment.

It is not clear when Rodriguez will speak with investigators, who have contacted other baseball players, including the Mets' Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran. Reyes and Beltran both have been interviewed.

Galea told the AP he has never given HGH to any athlete and said stories regarding his assistant were overblown. He told the AP that what authorities found was a "tiny, half-empty" bottle that contained two doses of HGH, for himself. Galea said he has been taking HGH for the last 10 years.

With AP