MANILA — Detained Senator Jinggoy Estrada was brought to Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan City on Wednesday for a scheduled knee X-ray after experiencing severe pain in his left knee while preparing to leave the New Quezon City Jail.

Estrada’s camp said the senator’s left knee “snapped” inside the detention facility shortly before he was taken to the hospital.

The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), however, denied reports that Estrada slipped in the jail’s restroom.

BJMP spokesperson JSupt. Jayrex Bustinera said Estrada was walking out of his cell when jail personnel heard a snapping sound from his knee.

The 63-year-old senator was scheduled to undergo the X-ray at Cardinal Santos Medical Center at 1 p.m. after the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division allowed him to temporarily leave the jail.

In a resolution issued Monday, the anti-graft court authorized Estrada to leave the detention facility at 11 a.m. Wednesday for the medical procedure and ordered him to return by 3 p.m. the same day.

Estrada’s camp said his orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Jose Fernando Syquia, is expected to brief members of the media after the procedure.

The senator has been experiencing joint effusion and intermittent pain in both knees. He was previously diagnosed with osteoarthritis, a degenerative condition that affects mobility.

The Sandiganbayan earlier said Estrada had recently experienced a flare-up of persistent pain in both knees that had made it increasingly difficult for him to walk.

According to the court, Estrada’s condition was relayed by his wife to Syquia, who recommended an X-ray of both knees using four specific views to determine whether his condition had worsened.

Estrada is detained while facing plunder and graft charges before the Sandiganbayan in connection with alleged irregularities in flood control projects.