Koji Uehara: Opening Day Might Be ‘Close Call,’ But ‘I Should Be Ready’

[protected-iframe id=”5793422bfefc4b4ff52b4c142f9215c2-38215605-37431026″ info=”http://www.springboardplatform.com/mediaplayer/springboard/video/nesn003/899/1499863/” width=”640″ height=”360″ class=”SpringboardPlayer”]
Koji Uehara could be described as cautiously optimistic.

Uehara, who suffered a strained left hamstring Tuesday while running before the Boston Red Sox’s spring training game against the Atlanta Braves, can’t say with any certainty whether he’ll be ready for the team’s April 6 season opener against the Philadelphia Phillies. However, the closer is maintaining a positive outlook as he attempts to recover from the injury in time.

“I feel that it might be a close call but I should be ready,” Uehara told reporters in Fort Myers through a translator Wednesday.

Red Sox manager John Farrell said Tuesday that Uehara would be out for at least a few spring training games, but he downplayed the severity of the injury by saying the club expects the right-hander to be ready by Opening Day. Uehara has appeared in three spring training contests to this point.

Uehara told reporters Wednesday he can’t predict a return date right now but that it shouldn’t take him long to prepare for the start of the season once he’s cleared to return to game action.

“It’€™s something that the coaches will probably decide,” Uehara said. “I could probably be ready without even appearing in a game.”

Uehara missed the first 28 games of the Baltimore Orioles’ 2010 season because of a left hamstring injury. He certainly is battling Father Time — he’ll turn 40 on April 3 — but Uehara said the current injury isn’t as serious as the pull he suffered in 2010.

Thumbnail photo via Steve Mitchell/USA TODAY Sports Images