It might be nothing more than a strained groin, which wouldn't even be strange considering linebacker Matt Roth underwent surgery in January to fix that problem.

Yet somehow, in the past two days, the mystery surrounding Roth's lack of participation at the start of training camp has spawned into a small soap opera that has stumped even coach Tony Sparano -- and now Roth could be in some lukewarm water as a result.

Roth, who failed his conditioning test Sunday, told Sparano on two occasions that his inability to pass the test was a result of feeling ill. So the team ordered blood work be done, but the results came back negative.

In retrospect, those negative results made sense, given that Roth's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, appeared on local TV saying Roth wasn't ill at all.

``There's really no mystery,'' Rosenhaus told WSVN, South Florida's Fox affiliate, during his weekly appearance. ``Matt has a strained groin.''

Rosenhaus said he spoke to Roth and head trainer Kevin O'Neill earlier Sunday night, and he was told the groin was the issue.

So why did Roth tell his coach otherwise? Did he injure the groin doing something he wasn't supposed to? What other reason would cause him to mislead Sparano?

It's a question the coach wanted answered, which is why he scheduled a meeting with Roth on Monday night. The coach was said to be upset with the linebacker for his failure to be upfront.

Earlier in the day, Sparano was still in the dark about the situation.

EARLY BACKING

``All I can tell you is what I know,'' Sparano said. ``I believe Matt Roth when Matt Roth is telling me that he is sick. This groin thing -- it is the first time I have heard of it. We are going to investigate it, but I have been told on two different occasions that it is an illness.

``That is not what I was told was the reason for the performance [in the conditioning test] that I saw [Sunday].''

Roth was not made available to reporters Monday, and Rosenhaus did not return multiple phone calls or a text message seeking explanation.

If it seems like this is a small drama that could have been easily avoided, that's because it probably is. And if this is the worst issue facing Miami at this point, that's really not such a bad thing.

But the situation has caused two days of murkiness about the team's starting strong-side linebacker, which happens to be one of the more important position battles of training camp.

Roth, who is in a contract year, made a solid transition from defensive end. He was second on the team with five sacks and fifth on the team with 53 tackles -- both career highs.

Even so, Roth wrote on his website in March that he was playing with a groin injury for the entire season, causing him to grade his performance last year as a six out of 10.

``I was hurt and couldn't do what I really wanted to do,'' Roth wrote in March. ``I had a tear in my groin from the year before and it still bothered me, but I got it fixed about three months ago.''

POSITION BATTLE

Roth had never been a problem for the Dolphins in the past, instead being viewed as a solid worker with a nonstop motor. But his absence will continue to open the door for Jason Taylor, who is competing with Roth for the starting job.

Even if Sparano is annoyed by the situation, don't expect the problem to linger. Instead, the bigger issue remains how quickly Roth can get over his current injury. Sparano was quick to defend Roth when asked how this situation could impact the competition.

``I mean, Matt was a good player for us here a year ago,'' Sparano said. ``He did a tremendous job for us a year ago. We just got to get to the bottom of it and find out what's wrong with him.''