PHOENIX -- Oakland Athletics starter Tim Hudson will miss 2-to-3 weeks with a sprained left ankle.

	Hudson

Hudson, who injured himself Tuesday during fielding drills, returned to camp Wednesday sporting crutches and an ankle brace. X-rays showed Hudson had a second-degree sprain.

"It's a lot better than yesterday," Hudson said. "The worse part are the crutches."

Hudson, 26, will be on crutches for several weeks and hopes to be ready for the first week of the season.

"I feel it's not going to take that long to get ready," Hudson said. "I'd need a good two weeks of throwing batting practice to live hitters and playing in game situations to get prepared."

Trainer Steve Sayles told the San Francisco Chronicle on Tuesday that the injury typically takes 4-to-6 weeks to heal, but Hudson is in great shape.

Hudson hurt himself while fielding a ground ball and running toward first base.

Hudson was 18-9 with a 3.37 ERA last year. He was a 20-game winner in 2000. Over the last three seasons, he's 49-17 with 3.61 ERA.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.