NEW YORK -- St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa told ESPN's Charley Steiner on Saturday that he does not expect Mark McGwire, out since July 7 with patellar tendinitis in his right knee, to be able to play before late August.

	McGwire

La Russa told Steiner that recent X-rays and MRI tests have not shown any reduction in inflammation around McGwire's knee.

Also Saturday, Cardinals trainer Barry Weinberg told ESPN's Ann Werner that McGwire is experiencing severe pain doing such everyday tasks as putting his foot on a car's break pedal. McGwire will remain in St. Louis to receive daily treatment when the Cardinals travel from New York to Montreal on Sunday night.

The Cardinals do not foresee surgery for the first baseman at this point.

"Unless you have a crystal ball or you're Mother Nature, you're prepared for whatever it takes," La Russa told The Associated Press before Sunday's 4-2 loss to the New York Mets. "It could be sooner, it could be later, it could be as long as late August. I don't know."

McGwire said Tuesday that he'd consider undergoing surgery before the season ended if it is the only option left to repair the patella tendon in his knee.

"It's an option, but it's like the final straw," McGwire said. "I don't want that."

McGwire was leading the majors with 30 home runs when he went on the disabled list.

Since then, McGwire said he has totally "shut down" his knee, trying to rest it as much as possible. Asked about what kind of treatment McGwire has received, Cardinals' trainer Barry Weinberg rattled off a list.

"We're trying everything, so we miss nothing," Weinberg said.

St. Louis, which has lost four straight for the first time this season and six of eight, is 7-13 since McGwire went on the DL. Its NL Central lead, 10 games on July 5, was cut to four games with Cincinnati's 7-4 win at Montreal.

"It's definitely a little different," Jim Edmonds said. "We have to learn from it. They pitch everybody a little differently, the guy in front of him, the guy behind him, because they're worried about him.

"They don't want to walk the guy in front of him, then they don't want to walk him (because) then they've got to worry about the guy following him."

McGwire, who's hitting .303 with 30 homers and 69 RBI (playing 70 games and missing 34), said he tried a light workout last week when the Cardinals were in Arizona. The next day, he said, his knee "felt like it had gone back to square one."

"Every time I bend my knee, it feels like it's going to tear. It's not good," McGwire said. "From what I understand about patella tendinitis, it just doesn't go away."

McGwire's injury is similar to the one suffered by St. Louis Rams place-kicker Jeff Wilkins. Like Wilkins, McGwire said his right knee hurts the most when he bends over.

Wilkins is still building strength in his leg five months after a bone spur and degenerative tissue were removed from his knee.

"That's run through my mind, and I don't want to think about it right now," McGwire said. "We have two months left in the season. It's not like we finish next week. Two months is a long time."

With McGwire out, the Cardinals have made moves to fortify their pitching, acquiring right-hander Mike Timlin from Baltimore after Saturday's game for first baseman Chris Richard and right-hander Mark Nussbecak, and getting left-hander Jason Christiansen from Pittsburgh after Sunday's game for minor league infielder Jack Wilson.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.