Ellsbury hoping to be back in Yankees' lineup before end of June
Jacoby Ellsbury has high hopes for a sooner-than-expected return.
The New York Yankees outfielder, who has been out of action since May 19, believes he can return to the team's lineup before the end of June.
"I'm optimistic I can be back before that," Ellsbury told Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. "If I can trim any time off that, I think it would be a success. Each step I'm pushing it and trying to trim more time off that six weeks when I can. I want to get back there. It's definitely not fun watching, that's for sure."
Ellsbury, 31, sprained the lateral collateral ligament in his right knee when he caught the spikes of his cleats in the dirt of the batter's box in a game against the Washington Nationals.
The outfielder has experienced tightness while running the bases and taking batting practice, although he says it's nothing major.
"It hasn't slowed anything down, and I've been told that's natural," Ellsbury said. "That's nothing that's an eye-opener or anything that the doc didn't say would happen. Even with that, it's still progressing according to the rehab program."
Prior to the injury, Ellsbury was hitting .324/.412/.372 to go along with one home run, six RBIs, and 14 stolen bases.