Phillies health check on Howard, Utley

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CLEARWATER, Fla.Ryan Howard has kept a low profile around Phillies camp the last week and a half, but general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. says his cleanup hitter is making progress after undergoing a procedure to clean out an infected wound on the back of his left ankle.

Theres no real infection in there anymore, Amaro said Wednesday. They think they got most of it out. They just dont want to risk a recurrence, so theyre hitting it hard with antibiotics.

Howard had a procedure performed on the infected area nine days ago in Baltimore. He has mostly been recovering at his Clearwater-area residence. He continues to wear a walking boot on his left foot to promote healing. Howard was supposed to wear the boot for seven to 10 days so it could be coming off soon.

Much the way former Phillies manager Jim Fregosi was loath to use the word slumpstruggling hitters were just in a little mix-up, according to FregosiAmaro remains reluctant to say Howard experienced a setback in his recovery from October surgery to repair a ruptured Achilles tendon.

The fact that hes not on the field doesnt help, Amaro acknowledged.

Its likely that Amaro does not want to use the word setback because Howards Achilles is in really good shape.

Howard had been fielding ground balls and taking batting practice before he developed an open wound in the area of the incision on the back of his ankle. The infection was related to a surgical suture that did not dissolve.

Amaro said there was no timetable for when Howard would be back on the field in camp, but he does not believe Howard will have to start at square one when hes ready to take the field.

Theyve said that when hes ready we could be aggressive with his rehab, Amaro said, referring to medical personnel.

The strategy on Utley

Chase Utley has yet to play in a game and the club continues to monitor the amount of time he spends taking ground balls. This is all part of the teams plan to preserve his knees for the long haul. Utley missed the first 47 games last season with severe right knee tendinitis and the condition must continually be managed.

Its a chronic situation, Amaro said. Were trying to be intelligent with how we progress. We said from the beginning that were not going to put him on the field unnecessarily. This is by design. Hes doing fine. Its just slow-play.

Amaro said there was no timetable for Utley to get into a Grapefruit League game. Asked if he expected Utley to be a go for opening day, Amaro said, Theres no reason not to think he wont. If he needs at-bats, we can get him plenty in minor-league games.

Other injury updates

Second baseman Harold Garcia, who missed most of last season with a torn ACL in his right knee, required microfracture surgery on Monday and will miss four to six months. Garcia, who is on the 40-man roster, played at Double A last season.

Reliever Justin De Fratus has begun a throwing program after being treated for right elbow tenderness early in camp.

E-mail Jim Salisbury at jsalisbury@comcastsportsnet.com

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