Utley has started doing some light work in the field, something he had been doing only while seated on a stool. He declined to provide a timetable, other than to say he was targeting a return before the All-Star break. General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. also said that Utley was not a candidate for the 60-day disabled list. Although a team can place a player on that list at any time and backdate the injury to the last time he played - in Utley's case, the clock would start on Thursday - Amaro said his feeling is that there is a realistic chance Utley can be ready before his time on that list would expire. In other words, at some point before the end of May.
"Over the past few weeks I think we have made some progress for obviously the good and we're going to stay on top of what we've been doing," said Utley, who has been diagnosed with patellar tendinitis, chondromalacia and bone inflammation in his right knee. "So I'm optimistic at this point and we'll continue to do what we're doing and go from there."
Utley declined to provide details of his visit earlier this month to a doctor who the team has described as a rehab specialist. He did say that the Phillies' training staff was treating him with different stretching and massage techniques. Both the player and the team are determined to progress with caution, in hopes of avoiding a setback once he resumes the high-impact pounding that comes with nine innings spent on one's feet.
"That's why we're trying to take this process slowly and read how I'm responding," Utley said. "You might try something one day and see how you respond the next day and if it's OK and everything feels OK you can make progressions off of that. As long as we are moving in the right direction, I think we'll be OK."
