Chase Utley out at least two days

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PHILADELPHIA -- Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Chase Utley will miss at least two games with what his team believes is a "very mild concussion," Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said Wednesday night.

Utley

Utley was injured in the sixth inning of the Phillies' 3-2 win over the Braves when he was hit in the helmet by a 91-mile-per-hour fastball, the first pitch thrown Wednesday by Atlanta reliever Eric O'Flaherty.

Utley initially stayed in the game, ran the bases and played in the field in the seventh and eighth innings. But when he returned to the dugout after the eighth, he reported he'd "started feeling a little fuzzy," Amaro said.

Utley was then removed from the game and examined by Phillies trainer Scott Sheridan.

Sheridan and Phillies officials consulted with team doctor Michael Ciccotti and a concussion specialist. Utley did not fly with the team to Milwaukee and will see a doctor Thursday.

Amaro said, Utley will "do nothing" Thursday except see a doctor, and then likely will undergo an impact test Friday to determine the extent of the concussion. The GM said the Phillies hope Utley will be ready to play "by the weekend," but will follow baseball's concussion-treatment protocol while they await a more complete diagnosis.

"We think this will be very mild," Amaro said. "But we're being cautious, obviously. You don't want to mess with the head. ... Like I told Chase, 'We're not going to mess with the heart, and we're not going to mess with the head.' He got a 90-mile-an-hour fastball off the melon, so we're going to be cautious about it."

Amaro said the club probably will activate shortstop Jimmy Rollins on Thursday, a few days earlier than expected, just to provide the team with more middle-infield depth. But Amaro said that initially, Rollins would only be used "in an emergency." Rollins has been out since Aug. 21 with a right groin strain.

Amaro projected an air of confidence that Utley won't turn out to be seriously hurt. But he also knows that head injuries aren't always as innocent as they appear.

"Any time there's impact like that in the head area," he said, "that's scary."

Jayson Stark is a senior baseball writer for ESPN.com.

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Jayson Stark | email

Senior Writer, ESPN.com

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• Senior writer for ESPN.com
• 21 years at the Philadelphia Inquirer
• Author of two baseball books