Back and forth several times, Dolphins strong-side linebacker Matt Roth sprinted shirtless the length of the football field Thursday afternoon, drenched in sweat as two trainers held stopwatches to time each run.

He was isolated from his teammates, just as he had been for the 25 practices to this point, apparently rehabilitating from a groin strain that caused him to fail his conditioning test when training camp began Aug. 2.

But no longer is Roth simply isolated from his teammates during workouts. With each lost day, his situation has caused an icy disconnection from the entire organization, all the way up the chain to vice president of football operations Bill Parcells.

The team is not happy with Roth. Specifically, as has been substantiated by multiple sources, the Dolphins are mystified why one of their most consistent, hardest-working players from a year ago has held himself out of practice for this long.

SENT TO DOCTOR

Near the start of camp, when Roth revealed to coach Tony Sparano that he had been dealing with a sore groin, the team sent him to Philadelphia to be analyzed by one of the leading groin and sports hernia experts in the nation, two sources said.

The doctor, William Meyers, did not find any significant issues, sending Roth back to Miami with what seemed to be an optimistic report, the sources said.

But Roth still didn't practice, offering no further explanation to the team other than to say he was still sore.

The team's decision-makers, including Parcells and general manager Jeff Ireland, are said to be as confused and annoyed by the situation as anyone on the outside.

When approached Wednesday about the situation, Roth said he was ``getting better, day by day,'' but then cited team rules that he couldn't talk any more about the injury. When asked if he had any plans to get back on the field, he said, ``You know I can't talk about that stuff.''

Asked whether he felt like his bosses believed him that he has a groin injury, he again said, ``You know I can't talk about that stuff.''

The team has discussed internally whether Roth might have some other motive involved in his decision to sit out of practice, or whether he feels enough pain to cause a desire to avoid further injury during a contract year.

The reason for the team's reservations isn't any lack of trust in Roth, who showed them a high level of work ethic last training camp, but instead a result of their desire to get to the bottom of a situation that Roth refuses to explain to them.

At this point, unless there remains some untold reason Roth does not want to share with the team, it appears to be a situation in which there is a disagreement between the team and the player about whether Roth is ``hurt'' or ``injured.''

Parcells has long been a believer in the philosophy that you can play when you're hurt -- not when you're injured. Given the diagnosis of Meyers, a doctor whom Parcells is believed to hold in high esteem, the organization might only be willing to believe Roth is hurt.

But because Roth also managed to play all of last season with a strained groin that was surgically repaired in January, the precedence of toughness has caused a greater suspicion by the team to wonder if there is perhaps something more occurring that Roth isn't saying.

It also doesn't help that this situation has been bizarre from its beginning.

When Roth failed his conditioning test earlier this month, he originally told Sparano during two separate meetings that he was feeling ill.

AGENT REVEALS INJURY

It wasn't until Roth's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, said during a weekly spot on South Florida's Fox affiliate, WSVN, that Roth had failed his conditioning test because of the groin -- not because he was ill.

Multiple requests by The Miami Herald to discuss the groin situation with Rosenhaus have been declined. Via text message Thursday, Rosenhaus wrote, ``I don't have anything to add about his situation. He's doing his best to get healthy and join practice.''

At a time before training camp began, discussions about a potential contract extension between Rosenhaus and the team occurred, but the talks didn't progress much. The Dolphins now want to see Roth prove himself on the field -- and off of it -- before any such talks were to resume.

NO PLANS ON BEING CUT

With that in mind, the team has no plans to cut Roth as a result of the situation, one source said.

Sparano is the only person who has been able to address the situation publicly. Because Sparano deals with on-field decisions, he has responded to the situation the only way he can: He will deal with Roth when he's healthy.

``I don't know when this thing's going to get right, so I have to go on like it ain't going to get right at this time and try to prepare the team accordingly,'' Sparano said Thursday. ``Whenever this thing gets right, I'll address it.

``Right now, I can't.''

At this point, it seems nobody can. Mostly, that's because nobody seems to understand the depths of the situation. Nobody but Roth.