Phillies hope Trea Turner can return from injury before this pivotal series

Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner injured his hamstring scoring a run on May 3 against the San Francisco Giants at Citizens Bank Park. He was placed on the injured list the next day with the expectation that he would miss roughly six weeks of game action.

The 30-year-old has been progressing well, given the timeline of his recovery. Turner has been taking ground balls and working on infield drills over the last few days. He was seen running on the field prior to the Phillies' games this week and was supposed to take batting practice with the team on Saturday, however, the weather delayed that step.

The hope is that Turner will return to the field sooner rather than later. He is expected to travel to Colorado and San Francisco after the club's three-game series against the defending World Series Champion Texas Rangers this week. While he will not be activated during that stretch, there is hope that he may be ready to play when the team travels to England on June 8 and 9.

Phillies hope Trea Turner can return before this pivotal series

Manager Rob Thomson hopes that Turner will be available when the Phillies take on the New York Mets in the London Series in just a few short weeks. The shortstop's return isn't a given as there is still no specific timeframe for his activation from the injured list. June 8 would be five weeks since the injury occurred and one week shy of the expected date of return for the Phillies' $300 million man.

"I hope so, because that would mean he's back with us," Thomson said about Turner heading to London, per MLB.com. "He's doing very well, though. ... But we're going to make sure there's nothing wrong with that leg when he comes back."

Turner's progress has been encouraging as he rehabs from the hamstring injury. He is projected to return by early to mid-June. Reports on his progress have been positive and upbeat.

The Phillies have played well in Turner's absence. Since their shortstop was sidelined, the club is 12-3 while outscoring opponents 103-51 in that span. However, the return of one of the most prolific hitters in the lineup cannot be a bad thing. While Edmundo Sosa, Bryson Stott and Kody Clemens have all played well while Turner has been on the shelf, his return to action will be highly anticipated.

Prior to the injury, the shortstop was hitting .343 with a .852 OPS. He had hit two home runs, scored 27 runs, knocked in nine base runners and swiped ten bags before being shelved. Turner had gotten off to a significantly better start than he had a year ago. His return to the lineup will only help improve this Phillies team which is 20 games over .500 on the season.