Freddie Freeman injury: Braves 1B on track for Monday return

While the Atlanta Braves won't be getting catcher Brian McCann back into the lineup anytime soon, first baseman Freddie Freeman is set to return from his strained oblique as early as Monday, reports Mark Bowman of MLB.com.

Freeman, 23, will work out with the Braves' Triple-A club in Gwinnett on Thursday and will begin a three-game rehab stint with the club on Friday if the training session goes well. Barring any setbacks in the field over the weekend, Freeman should rejoin Atlanta in time for their series opener in Colorado on Monday.

Avilan goes down

The Braves southpaw left Wednesday's game with a pretty bad looking hamstring injury (see: photo).

Just as the most of the team has, the young first baseman got off to a hot start this season -- racking up seven hits, including a home run, in his first 19 plate appearances -- but was forced to the DL on April 6 because of an oblique muscle strain he suffered during the last week of Spring Training.

Regular third baseman Chris Johnson has primarily been filling at first base in Freeman's absence, and Juan Francisco has taken over at the hot corner. The pair have done well to supplement Freeman's production, with Johnson batting .432/.447/.568 in his nine games at first and Francisco swatting three home runs in the last week.

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