/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/49122121/usa-today-9183121.0.jpg)
PHOENIX -- Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier walked into the clubhouse on crutches Saturday morning, but he is only expected to miss a few days with a lower right leg contusion after fouling a ball off his right shin bone on Friday against the Diamondbacks.
"I definitely feel a lot better today than I did yesterday. We'll see in the next couple days," Ethier said. "Luckily we have a little bit of time left. I'm not worried yet."
Manager Dave Roberts said there would be no further tests for Ethier's right leg after Friday's X-rays, which came back negative.
"It was pretty definitive there was no fracture," Roberts said. "The swelling was down, and that was good news."
Ethier was held out of baseball activities on Saturday and will be reevaluated after th.at. Roberts said Ethier would likely miss two or three days, and when asked if Ethier would be ready for opening day the manager responded, "Absolutely."
The Dodgers expect Ethier to start in left field this year against right-handed pitching, against whom he hit .306/.383/.517 in 2015 and .304/.383/.507 in his career. Ethier started 105 of the Dodgers' 118 games against right-handed starting pitchers last year, and could be an option in 2016 for them batting leadoff, something he has done twice this week but never in a major league game.
Ethier wears a shin guard but his foul ball in the fourth inning on Friday still managed to find bone.
"I squared myself up pretty good right there," Ethier said. "My leg is littered with scars and marks from doing that over the years.
"I'm going have to start wearing a soccer guard or something. I don't like to wear that big outside guard. I wear one underneath, and the ball hit right between my knee pad and shin guard. That's usually how it works."
Ethier is 10-for-23 (.435) with a home run, a triple and five walks in 10 games this spring.