Concussion symptoms. That has become an ominous phrase during a frustrating 2011 season for the Twins.

The symptoms have damaged Justin Morneau’s career and have limited Denard Span to 65 games this season.

When Twins trainer Rick McWane told reporters before Tuesday night’s game against Seattle at Target Field that outfielder Jason Repko is dealing with concussion symptoms, manager Ron Gardenhire, seated next to McWane in the team’s dugout, displayed a what-else-can-go-wrong expression.

“I’ve never heard the word ‘concussion’ this many times in a season,” Gardenhire said. “Unfortunately for our ballclub, we’ve had to deal with it more than others.”

Repko is the latest Twins player with concussion concerns after he was struck in the head Sunday by a fastball from Cleveland pitcher Justin Masterson in the sixth inning. Repko needed help getting to the locker room and was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center for evaluation.

McWane said the club is awaiting results from a magnetic resonance imaging exam Repko had Tuesday afternoon. Repko is not expected to be available for the three-game series this week against Seattle. In fact, McWane was unsure if Repko would play at all in the Twins’ final nine games.

“I don’t know if he’ll be back,” McWane said. “We’re still running tests. He’s reporting concussion symptoms…nausea and headaches.”

How many times have the Twins heard that kind of update from McWane this season?

McWane gave similar reports

on Morneau and Span, and both were sidelined more than nine games. Morneau is still dealing with the concussion symptoms he suffered in a July 7 game last season at Toronto. He aggravated the symptoms this Aug. 28 against Detroit while diving for a ground ball at first base.

Span has had concussion symptoms since a June 3 home-plate collision with Kansas City catcher Brayan Pena.

Considering the precautions the Twins have taken with Morneau and Span – and the insignificance of the remaining nine games – it’s conceivable Repko might be done for the season. Even if he shows quick improvement, he will need medical clearance from Major League Baseball to return to the lineup.

Repko’s absence Tuesday night left the Twins with only 12 healthy players available for field duty. Span has yet to be activated and outfielder Jason Kubel (sore foot) has been limited to a designated hitter role the rest of the season.

Gardenhire has tried to stay upbeat throughout the injury and illness updates.

“The only time I get disappointed and my attitude changes is when we’re losing a lot of games and we’re not playing the game with respect,” he said. “We haven’t had too many problems like that this year. All I ask is that the players come to the ballpark every day and play as hard as they can.”

More than anything, Gardenhire said his love for the game has helped him keep his spirits up.

Before Tuesday’s game, Gardenhire took time to chat with a uniformed officer in the military who was given a field pass by Twins officials.

“You’re having a ball being around a kid’s game,” Gardenhire said. “As far as a positive attitude, you should have it. You come to the ballpark every day, and you wear a major league uniform. You’re running a ballclub. I have a lot of respect for this game.”

DETROIT – Nearly a year after the season-ending concussion he suffered last season, Justin Morneau is a regular in the Twins’ lineup again.

But he’s not healthy.

And he’s not happy.

Yes, he’s happy to be on the field again, he said Tuesday, but he quickly added: “I’m not someone who’s happy to be out there, though. I expect a lot out of myself.”

Morneau is suffering from a sore neck and left shoulder, the result of a pinched nerve. Two cortisone shots have failed to relieve it, and the 2006 American League MVP said Tuesday he is resigned to playing the rest of the season in pain.

Whether the pain has contributed to what has so far been a subpar season, he doesn’t know.

“Obviously, I’m not playing as well as I’d like,” he said, “but whether it’s because of this or not, who knows? It’s one of those things where I can play with it, so I’ll just keep going.”

Morneau entered Tuesday night’s game against the Tigers at Comerica Park with a .242 batting average, two home runs and 17 RBIs. At the time of his season-ending injury, last July 7 at Toronto, he was batting .345 with 18 homers, 56 RBIs and a major-league-leading .437 on-base percentage.

However, Morneau added two home runs and three RBIs through seven innings of Tuesday night’s Twins-Tigers game, which was not completed in time for this edition.

The first baseman’s recovery from the concussion – suffered when he was kneed in the head while breaking up a double play – has been one of the

few positive story lines of the Twins’ 2011 season. Yet it has been mitigated by the new injury and the team’s competitive failures.

The injury affects both his neck and left shoulder, and Morneau acknowledged it limits him on the field and, occasionally, in the batter’s box. It’s been such a problem that manager Ron Gardenhire last week asked whether Morneau wanted to go on the disabled list.

“I asked Justin if we needed to take a step back here and let this thing calm down,” Gardenhire said. “But through talking with the doctors – and even his other doctor that has seen this stuff said the same thing – it’s really not going to go away as long as you’re doing baseball activity.”

Gardenhire said he wanted to give Morneau a day as the designated hitter this week, but with Jason Kubel out with a sprained left foot, he needs Jim Thome – who no longer plays in the field – at DH for his offense.

That’s fine with Morneau, who was still uncertain he had recovered from his concussion when the team broke spring training March 28. That part of the story has been bright. Though the concussion is not completely behind him – and, in fact, might never be – he said it has not affected his play.

And yet he hasn’t found his groove. That bothers him more than anything.

“When I’m not playing well and the team is not playing well, it usually goes hand in hand,” he said. “You need to have the middle-of-the-order guys do what they need to do in order to win. So the only thing I’m here for is to win, and I don’t think I’m doing my job.

“I don’t look for excuses or decide I’m happy to be here, so it’s one of those things that makes you frustrated. At the same time, I’ve struggled before and come out better on the better side of it. So I’ll come in every day with the belief that each day is going to be a good day.”