Anthony Rizzo is no stranger to back issues, but this particular flare-up has been disappointing for him to deal with.

He used his time wisely in the three-month shutdown, shedding 25 pounds and getting into great shape for the shortened season.

Yet before the first week of summer camp had concluded, Rizzo was sidelined with a back issue that seems to crop up nearly every season for him. He went for an MRI Tuesday, which revealed inflammation in his left rib/thoracic area that is leading to the stiffness and tightness he’s experiencing in the low back.

“Frustrating just because how physically in shape I felt like I was coming in,” Rizzo said. “Just can’t control the flare-ups. The MRI was kind of what we knew, just confirming it. Just getting it to calm down, get back out there as fast I can.”

Rizzo missed Wednesday’s intrasquad scrimmage and sat out Tuesday as well. He took some hacks in live batting practice Sunday and felt good while doing that but afterwards, he didn’t recover the way he and the Cubs had hoped.

He’s been working on strengthening and stabilizing and admitted he felt better waking up Wednesday morning than he did Tuesday morning.

Rizzo said his back issues typically range from “severe pain” to “absolutely nothing” and while he’s past the “severe pain” part right now, he’s not yet at the endgame.

With the Cubs beginning their season next Friday, Rizzo is still optimistic he won’t have to miss Opening Day.

“I know I can manage it,” he said. “I manage trough a lot. But we’re gonna take it day-to-day. I’d rather miss a couple games early if necessary than a big chunk. It’s kinda similar to ’18 when it was early in the year, I ended up missing [9] games where if it was later in the year, we would’ve played those games.

“It’s just the risk-reward right now. We know how important every game is. So for me personally, I’m going to be pushing to get back as fast as I can and take the risk because the reward of being with the guys and playing alongside them is worth it for me.”

If Rizzo does miss time, manager David Ross said Kris Bryant and Víctor Caratini will serve as backup options at first base. Both Bryant and Caratini started at the position in Wednesday’s intrasquad scrimmage.

As he alluded to, Rizzo missed 9 games back in April 2018 with back tightness, but he also knew it was early in a 162-game season and the Cubs had their sights set on potentially playing into October, so it wasn’t worth pushing through it at the time.

With only a 60-game slate in 2020, each contest takes on added importance and Rizzo and the Cubs are trying to manage both the short-term and long-term implications of holding him out.

Right now, it’s only summer camp and Rizzo still has time to reduce the back tightness and get up to speed before the regular season. He has been tracking pitchers in the bullpen at Wrigley Field in an effort to try to keep his timing and visualization in place without actually having to swing.

He said he’s learned a lot from his past back issues about when to push through the tightness and pain and when to back off. He’s trying to carry those lessons into this summer.

“I am stubborn,” Rizzo said. “We’re playing through it, working through it maybe when I shouldn’t be just to be out there. But it’s part of the gig. My job is to play no matter what. That’s what I love to do.”