Phillies Notes: Howard to test ankle, could be back soon

NEW YORK - The first day Ryan Howard can be activated from the 15-day disabled list is Tuesday.

"Tuesday is Tuesday," a philosophical Howard said.

So is it still possible for the first baseman to return then?

"We'll get to Tuesday and see what happens," he said.

Nursing a sprained left ankle, Howard has taken batting practice the last two days. He has worked on taking grounders at first and did some jogging Saturday. But he has yet to make sharp cuts on the ankle, something he will try Sunday.

Howard said he could be activated without playing in a rehab game. The Phillies have yet to schedule any rehab assignment for Howard, but Charlie Manuel made it sound like he prefers Howard to have some at-bats under his belt before returning.

"He has to get used to his ankle being taped," Manuel said. "That might take him a few days. The first time you do it, it feels real tight and stiff."

Phillies assistant general manager Scott Proefrock said Howard's progress will dictate when he's ready.

"We'll just have to wait and see how it goes," Proefrock said.

Manuel said he could have played catcher Carlos Ruiz in Friday's game, but chose to sit him with a sore right quad. Ruiz was back in the lineup Saturday.

Both manager and catcher said they did not know how the injury occurred. Ruiz woke up Friday with the soreness.

Strangely, an unprompted Manuel said the injury did not happen in the postgame celebration following Thursday's wild 10-9 victory over Los Angeles. Ruiz attempted to run away from a pack of his teammates charging at him to rejoice.

"To say he got hurt because of the celebration, I don't think that would be right," Manuel said. "He was on his knees a lot, blocking. He got hit a lot with the ball. The collision at the plate, he had to turn to make the play. I don't know how he got hurt."

Ross Gload (strained right groin) was doing better Saturday, Manuel said. Mike Sweeney started his third straight game at first base, but Manuel said it was possible he could use Gload as a pinch-hitter. . . . On Friday, Cole Hamels became the fourth pitcher since 1990 to have his team's only hit in a game, according to STATS, LLC. Manuel said Hamels was a bit sore a day after taking a liner off his right leg. But the ball hit above the kneecap and caused only a slight bruise. "He was lucky," Manuel said.