Chase Utley's Return From Knee Injury 'Going To Be A Slow Process'

Progress. For Phillies second baseman Chase Utley, every day is about progress as he rehabs from a knee injury that's kept him out all spring and season to date. Utley's been fairly quiet about the whole situation, but on Tuesday he shared a few words with the media, which might have been encouraging or discouraging, depending on your perspective. From David Hale:

Utley said his knee feels significantly better than it did when the team left Florida to begin the regular season three weeks ago, but when it comes to testing its strength, he’s playing it safe.
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"From Day 1 until now, it’s been a little bit of a progression, taking more, moving a little bit more," Utley said. "But it’s still going to be a slow process unfortunately."

Utley has advanced to the point where he's jogging, fielding grounders and moving laterally in sneakers, and he's nearing a switch to cleats. He has clearly been making steady improvement. Yet, in his own words, it's a slow process, and there's a ways to go yet before he's back to feeling 100%, or anywhere close to it.

So Utley remains without a timetable. Fortunately, the Phillies have been winning without him, so there's no sense of urgency.