ARLINGTON -- Rangers rookie outfielder Evan Carter has come to grips with the realization that he won’t play again this season due to a lingering back injury. The most frustrating part for Carter is that he felt like he was on the verge of returning to play multiple times this season before he was finally shut down last week.

The 21-year-old ramped up his activities in early July, eyeing an August return before it became apparent he wouldn’t be able to play this season.

“Sore wasn't the right word anymore -- I was like, it hurts again,” Carter said Sunday morning. “So we decided to get it looked at [by specialists] again.”

Last weekend, Carter saw Dr. Robert Watkins, a prominent spinal surgeon who has treated and operated on scores of well-known pro athletes. Carter was advised that his back needs more time to rest and heal.

Carter hopes he’ll be able to start swinging a bat again in nine or 10 weeks. He thought he was close to coming back, but now he’ll have to wait until next spring.

“You're getting ramped up and about ready to go ... you're working really hard to get back out there,” Carter said. “And then it's like, ‘Hey, I know you've busted your butt for three weeks. Sorry. You're done.’

“You get back down, and then you kind of get a glimpse of hope again, you're doing it again, and then get shot back down right again -- so it's mentally exhausting. But at the same time, now you've got a different goal. My offseason is going to be way longer than everybody else's. So come spring, my goal now is I should be ready to go. More than ready to go.”

Carter emerged as a key figure late last season as the Rangers made their World Series championship run, batting .306 with a 1.058 OPS in 23 regular-season games and continuing his hot streak with a .300 average and .917 OPS in 17 postseason games. He also made some dazzling plays in left field.

This season, Carter never really got going before he went to the injured list in late May. He slashed .188/.272/.361 in 45 games.