PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Pirates won't have left fielder Brian Giles back as soon as they hoped.

	Giles

Manager Lloyd McClendon said Wednesday it's unlikely that Giles, out with a sprained right knee, will be ready to play during a 10-game road trip that begins Tuesday in San Diego.

Giles has been out since hurting his knee sliding into second base April 10 against Milwaukee. He is yet to resume batting practice or running with the quick starts and sudden stops required to run the bases or play the outfield.

The impact of Giles' absence on the Pirates' offense has been obvious, even though he was off to a slow start -- no homers and four RBI -- when he was hurt. They hit only two homers during the first 10 games of his layoff, even though they managed to win four times.

"I know he's eager to get back in there, but we're going to be careful," McClendon said. "We're not going to rush him back two or three games early and run the risk of losing him for two-to-three weeks. He'll come back when he's 100 percent healthy."

Giles could be ready to resume some on-field work by this weekend.

McClendon isn't blaming Giles' absence for the Pirates' power shortage, but said it obviously is a factor. The Pirates hit 10 homers in their first four games, then had only four in their next 15 games.

"I think we'll hit our share of home runs, especially when we get Giles back, but we're certainly capable of winning games 3-2 and 2-1," McClendon said. "I don't think we'll be a prolific home run team, but we'll hit our share."