Chunichi Dragons veteran lefty Masahiro Yamamoto on Wednesday downplayed an injury he suffered a day earlier to his right knee.
"Once the inflammation goes away I've been told it's alright to move," the 49-year-old Yamamoto said after arriving at Nagoya Dome. "I can walk, and stairs are not a problem either."
Yamamoto left Tuesday's Western League spring instructional league game after just one pitch and was later diagnosed with mild knee ligament inflammation.
"Of course I'll be behind (in my preparations), but I just want to make sure not by too much," said Yamamoto, who lifted weights on Wednesday but didn't pick up a ball.
The setback will make it harder for him to make the starting rotation.
"It's going to be tough," he said. "It's too bad since I had been on track. But I'm the type who makes the most out of a bad situation, so I want to take this as a favorable turn."
Last season, Yamamoto became the oldest player to win a game in Japanese baseball history.