PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Daniel Murphy said he will be limited to icing his right side and riding a stationary bicycle on Wednesday, a day after receiving a cortisone injection in New York for a strained intercostal muscle on his right side.

"I'll try to stay skinny," Murphy quipped.

Murphy said he spoke with David Wright, who dealt with a similar side-muscle injury last spring training.

"Hopefully it shouldn't take too long before I can start swinging the bat, but I'm can't go out there the first day and take 250 hacks," Murphy said. "I talked to David today. He said, 'Don't do your swinging motion or twist.' He said, 'Just let the medication take its course.' He said I'll feel better in a couple of days. But, he said, I think it's in our nature to feel where it's at and try to want to twist on it. He said wait a couple of days. It will take. Just trust it."

Murphy reiterated that his right side got sore upon arriving at camp.

"I felt better taking groundballs and throwing than I did when I was swinging, but I can't," Murphy said. "I'm going to come in each day and they're going to take a gauge of how I feel and then, I think, adjust my workload accordingly."

When might Murphy ideally return to games?

"April 1," he deadpanned, referring to Opening Day.