Cardinals' Wainwright could make spring debut in 2-3 weeks

St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Adam Wainwright received the news he "expected to hear" when he was diagnosed Thursday with an abdominal strain, an injury that will likely delay his Grapefruit League debut for two-to-three weeks.

Wainwright returned to camp Friday after visiting a specialist in St. Louis and will play catch on flat ground over the weekend, though his running, fielding and weightlifting will be limited for the next little while. The 33-year-old is expected to be reevaluated Monday and may be cleared to resume throwing off the mound.

"From what I've been told, in four or five days, I can start mixing and matching things that I would normally do slowly until I'm back to 100 percent in a matter of just two weeks," Wainwright told MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch. "I can continue to build arm strength off the mound and face hitters and all that stuff. And when I'm ready to move laterally and get stuff going, that should be a quick, easy thing. Right now, I can go out there and throw live BP, just don't field my position. I'm fine with that."

Wainwright was expected to have his workload reduced this spring anyway, though, as the three-time All-Star has logged more innings than any other pitcher over the last two seasons.

"Everybody was saying that you need to scale back your innings in Spring Training," Wainwright said. "God just naturally found a way to make that happen without ticking me off. 'OK, Adam. You don't want to have time off? I'll make you take time off.'"

Though Wainwright's status remains uncertain for his team's season opener against the Chicago Cubs on April 5, general manager John Mozeliak expressed optimism Friday about the veteran's condition.

"I would imagine he'll be ready to go by April," Mozeliak told MLB Network.