Griffey

CHICAGO – Cincinnati Reds manager Bob Boone is encouraged to hear Ken Griffey Jr. talk about returning in two weeks but he's not counting on it.

Griffey, who tore his left hamstring during a spring training game, did well on a strength test last week, and is running.

In an interview Tuesday with ESPN, the outfielder said he hoped to return in two weeks.

"I don't doubt that, I don't expect that," Boone said Wednesday before the Reds game against the Chicago Cubs. "You just don't know.

"You get to that 80 percent, how long is it going to take to get that last 20 percent?"

Griffey tore his hamstring March 26 and hasn't started at all in the regular season. He went 0-for-12 as a pinch-hitter before aggravating the injury and going on the disabled list April 29.

Griffey tore the top part of the same hamstring near the end of last season, and the Reds don't want him to play again before the muscle is healed.

Regardless of when Griffey returns, Boone said he's going to have to be cautious with his hamstring. Scar tissue isn't as flexible, and Griffey will have to treat it carefully.

"That's something he's going to have to be on top of forever," Boone said.