Victorino aims for Friday return

The Red Sox hope to get Shane Victorino back Friday.
Ben Whitehead
Contributing Writer

Boston's Shane Victorino has missed six games since leaving last Wednesday's game against the Athletics with a back injury.

The right fielder said he's had no trouble swinging the bat in recent days. Earlier this week, Red Sox manager John Farrell said he expected Victorino to play "sometime this week." All signs point to Friday, but any setback could land Victorino on the 15-day DL.

Victorino noted that he is still experiencing some tightness in his lower back when he bends over and raises back up and the Sox are in no rush to bring him back and risk worsening the injury.

"Today I did a little bit of soft toss," Victorino said prior to Wednesday's game in Toronto. "Everyday we've progressively added to the workload. It's getting better, feels a lot better day-to-day. Obviously, they want to take it slow in regards to putting too much in the workload and what's going on."

The Flyin' Hawaiian has improved daily, but the Red Sox have set today as the deadline to decide whether or not to send Victorino to the DL. The plan is for Victorino to be inserted back into the lineup Friday against the Rangers in Texas.

"I've progressed every day,” said Victorino. “(Today) we're going to add to the workload. My goal is if everything goes accordingly, I'd like to play the first game in Texas. That's obviously how my body reacts and how my body feels."

We will have the latest for you here as soon as we hear from the Red Sox.

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