ELMONT, N.Y. - A leg injury has taken I'll Have Another out of the Belmont Stakes and out of the running for the Triple Crown.

The issue is with a swollen left-front tendon. Trainer Doug O'Neill said something was first noticed in the leg on Thursday, but hoped I'll Have Another had "just hit himself."

Trainer Doug O'Neill, rear left, kneels to wrap I'll Have Another's left foot at Belmont Park on Friday. (AP)I'll Have Another looked fine during a morning workout on Friday, according to O'Neill, but in the cooling down period "you could tell that swelling was back and at that point I didn't feel very good."

O'Neill talked to owner Paul Reddam and the two summoned a doctor, who determined I'll Have Another showed signs of tendinitis beginning in his left-front leg.

The doctor indicated the horse would need 3-6 months of rest. After conferring, O'Neill and Reddam opted to retire I'll Have Another.

"It's a bummer," O'Neill said, "but it's far from tragic."

The inflammation to the tendon is a "one-bad-step injury," according to equine veterinarian Larry Bramlage, and doesn't have anything to do with overuse or I'll Have Another's schedule of races.

"In the whole scale of tendon injuries, it's minor. In the scale of the Triple Crown, it's huge," Bramlage said.

[Photos: Belmont favorite I'll Have Another out of racing with a leg injury]

There were indications Friday morning that something was amiss. O'Neill took I'll Have Another to the track for his morning jog hours earlier than he had been going for the past three weeks. O'Neill then left the Belmont track without speaking to the media, and Reddam was also not available. That was highly unusual for what had been a media-friendly group.

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I'll Have Another out of the Belmont Stakes, out of the Triple Crown and retired for good