Pitcher Mike Hampton, who missed the entire 2006 Major League Baseball season due to injury, couldn't make it through spring training unscathed.

The Atlanta Braves left-hander won't be ready for the team's season opener April 2 in Philadelphia and could miss two months after hurting his left side during batting practice Wednesday.

Braves left-hander Mike Hampton missed the entire 2006 season following reconstructive elbow surgery.
(Chris Carlson/Associated Press)

"I think I pulled it pretty bad," Hampton, 34, said Thursday. "There's nothing you can do about it now except try to get it healed up and get it better."

Braves doctors diagnosed the injury as a strained left oblique muscle after X-rays came back negative.

Hampton was taking batting practice Wednesday at the Braves' complex in Kissimmee, Fla., while the team was playing the Detroit Tigers in nearby Lakeland. He fell to the ground in pain after a swing, prompting fears that he broke a rib.

Hampton already was coming along slower than expected this spring in his recovering from reconstructive elbow surgery. He isn't likely to return to action before May.

"I've heard anything from four weeks to six to eight weeks," said Hampton, who was expected to make his spring training debut this Saturday against the Toronto Blue Jays.

"I guess I can officially say sand has been kicked in my face. I guess the only silver lining is my elbow will get a little more time to rest."

Braves manager Bobby Cox had been counting on Hampton to bolster a rotation that includes John Smoltz, Tim Hudson and Chuck James.

Hampton posted a record of 5-3 in 12 starts in 2005, struggling much of the season with a sore elbow that finally required major surgery. His best season was in 1999, when he went 22-4 with the Houston Astros.

In 2000, Hampton signed an eight-year, $121-million US free-agent contract with the Colorado Rockies, but struggled in the thin air of Denver. He is 53-48 since signing the deal and owed $14.5 million this year and $15 million in 2008.

Hampton was traded to the Braves after the 2002 season, getting his career back on track with two solid seasons before he blew out his elbow.

Without Hampton, Kyle Davies and Lance Cormier are expected to fill the last two spots in the Braves' starting rotation.

With files from the Associated Press