Northwestern coach Randy Walker remained hospitalized Tuesday after being diagnosed with myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle.

Team spokesman Mike Wolf said Walker, 50, was feeling better and resting comfortably Tuesday, and he could be released from the hospital as early as today.

“I’m doing much better than I was 24 hours ago,” Walker said in a prepared statement. “I was in a lot of pain initially, but for the most part, that has completely subsided. (Monday) afternoon was definitely a little shaky.”

Walker checked himself into Evanston Northwestern Hospital on Monday afternoon after becoming ill prior to his weekly news conference.

His physicians said they did not know the cause of the coach’s disorder.

Most cases are the result of a viral infection, according to Dr. Daniel Eiferman, Weinberg ’99, a resident at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

“The odds are they will not know if he gets better quickly, and the majority of people do, so he’ll never know why he had it,” Eiferman said. “The majority of the time it’s viral.”

Walker said he’ll decide later this week whether he’ll coach Saturday against No. 17 Purdue.

“Certainly there will be some reduced hours and limitations to what I can do during practice,” Walker said. “I’ll just wait for some direction from the physicians. I understand the importance of preparing a football team for a game each week, but I also value my health and well-being.”

Eiferman said patients who are otherwise healthy can recover quickly from the inflammation.

“If he has no other reason to have a sick heart, his heart will recover very quickly,” he said.

With Walker in the hospital, assistant head coach Jerry Brown ran Tuesday’s practice.

“Not to take anything away from coach Walker, but our individual coaches do a great job of really making sure we do the right thing every time we step on the field,” senior defensive tackle Luis Castillo said.

Senior running back Noah Herron said he couldn’t remember Walker ever missing practice.

“It was weird,” Herron said. “I don’t know how to explain it. He’s been here every day from what I know.”

Reach Teddy Kider at [email protected].