Howard's wound must still heal

When Dan Baker yelled Ryan Howard's name into the microphone behind home plate at Citizens Bank Park, the crowd cheered Monday. Then it was louder when Howard, wearing his No. 6 jersey, popped from the dugout and jogged to the first-base line for pregame introductions.

Charlie Manuel, standing near home plate, wished it wasn't his slugger's only appearance on the field.

"I was surprised," Charlie Manuel said. "Actually, I didn't want him to do that. He didn't just want to limp out there. But I didn't want him running. Matter of fact, I might have carried him if he asked me."

The progress for Howard is slow; he no longer must take antibiotics to treat an infection. But he is restricted until the wound totally heals, and that has yet to happen.

"My activities, it's all the same," Howard said. "The wound is what we're waiting on."

Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said Howard will consult with wound specialists at the Rothman Institute on Wednesday. Then, the team should have a better idea when Howard can extend himself. There remains no public timetable for his return.

Howard took ground balls during batting practice again Wednesday, but he is still limited in his work. Before the infection and Feb. 27 surgical procedure, he was more active than he currently is. Howard said he can do cardiovascular activities like jump rope.

He drove to Baltimore on Tuesday to see Mark Myerson, the specialist who performed procedures to repair his torn left Achilles and clean out a subsequent infection that has caused a setback in his recovery.

The tendon remains intact. The infection in the wound is completely gone, but it took nearly a month and a half for that to happen.

"His Achilles is doing great," Amaro said. "His strength is increasing."

"The wound looks good," Howard said. "It looks healthy and clean. There's no more infection. Now we're just waiting for it to close."

Amaro said once that happens, the team can be aggressive with his recovery plan. Still, no timetable has been established, and Howard lost significant time with this setback.

"The wound was pretty deep," Amaro said. "I didn't have a really good grasp of this, but the wound was so deep you could almost stick your fingers in there. That's how deep it was at the outset. The wound heals from in to out. It has taken time because it was a significant wound."

Howard said he does not know when he will return to Florida to continue his rehab. The Phillies will make a decision once the wound is completely healed.

"It's kind of freakish," Amaro said. "But it is what it is. We had to deal with it. Now we're just waiting for him to heal up and get him going."

Contact Matt Gelb at mgelb@phillynews.com or follow on Twitter @magelb.