Jacoby Ellsbury Making Speedy Recovery From Rib Contusion

by Evan Brunell on Tue, Apr 13, 2010 at 9:55PM

It may be early April, but the Red Sox are already banged up.

The most recent addition to Boston's injury report is Jacoby Ellsbury, who suffered a rib contusion courtesy of a well-placed Adrian Beltre knee.

The two collided in the ninth inning of Sunday's rubber game against the Royals.

Beltre walked away unscathed while Ellsbury missed Monday's game and is fortunate to have avoided a broken rib.

Ellsbury told the Boston Herald he was hopeful to be back in the lineup on Wednesday, but manager Terry Francona seems to want to play it safe. It's possible the left fielder will miss all of the Twins series and return against Tampa Bay on Friday.

Joining Ellsbury on the injury report is Boof Bonser, who made his second rehab start after working his way back from a strained groin suffered in spring training. He's also just over a year removed from surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff.

Bonser gave up nine runs in two innings on Tuesday and struggled with his control. He walked three, hit a batter and threw two wild pitches.

Making rehab starts alongside Bonser in Triple-A Pawtucket is Daisuke Matsuzaka. Dice-K has a sore back and stiff neck that delayed his start to spring training.

The plan is for the Japanese righty to make three minor league starts, then rejoin the team on or around April 25.

He next pitches on Thursday against Buffalo and will have a pitch count of 85. His first rehab start consisted of five scoreless outings on Saturday, as he helped the PawSox take down Rochester 1-0.

Two other Red Sox players who saw action with the major league club in 2009 remain sidelined after expecting to open the season with Pawtucket.

Shortstop Jed Lowrie was placed on the disabled list with mononucleosis retroactive to March 26. There has been no progress as he continues to struggle with a lack of energy.

Starting pitcher Junichi Tazawa, who joined the Red Sox prior to the 2009 season from Japan, underwent Tommy John surgery on April 6 and is out for the entire year. He may not even be ready for the start of 2011.