BOSTON (AP) – Nomar Garciaparra doesn’t like being on the sidelines while his teammates play, but the Boston Red Sox shortstop knows it’s better to let his injured Achilles tendon heal now than be out in the heat of a pennant race.

“If there was a time to take care it, it’s to take care of it now going into the season … so it doesn’t become a factor later on,” Garciaparra said on Friday.

“I don’t like to sit and watch, but at the same time I’m also focused on what I have to do. The good thing is we have a plan on what we’d like to do.”

The Red Sox wrap up their exhibition schedule with a game against the Braves in Atlanta on Saturday, then open the season with a four-game series against the Orioles in Baltimore. But Garciaparra is already back in Boston to receive medical attention for his right Achilles tendon, which is expected to keep him out at least three weeks.

The injury really only hurts when he runs, he said, and he will be able to stay in shape, work out in the pool, throw and swing without aggravating the injury.

“I’m able to do other stuff to keep my body in shape … so when the time is right to pick up my baseball activity, I’m not going to be far behind,” said Garciaparra, who hit .301 last season, with 28 home runs and 105 RBIs.

Garciaparra was examined Wednesday in Florida by Mark Slovenkai, an ankle and foot specialist from New England Baptist Hospital.

No structural damage was found in the tendon, but the injury was diagnosed as a bruise in the cartilage that covers the tendon. The only treatment is rest.

Garciaparra was injured March 5 when he was hit by a ball during batting practice. He has been limited to just eight at-bats in spring training.

All the doctors he consulted said the same thing. “It needs rest, which unfortunately is the hardest thing to tell an athlete,” Garciaparra said.

He is the second Red Sox starter to go down this spring. Right fielder Trot Nixon is expected to be out until early May with a lower back problem. Right-hander Byung-Hyun Kim, a projected starter, has been placed on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to March 26.

With Garciaparra out of the lineup, Pokey Reese is expected to fill in at shortstop and Mark Bellhorn will play second base in place of Reese.

The two-time AL batting champ is not worried about the team getting out to a slow start because of the injuries to two starters.

“I’m not concerned at all that we have some injuries, that’s part of the game,” Garciaparra said. “The injuries are now, we can address them, take care of them … there is a lot of baseball to played and you have to look at the big picture.”

Nor is he concerned about how the injury will affect his contract negotiations.

“I’m really not worried about that or thinking about that,” said Garciaparra, who is in the last year of his contract. He was the subject of off-season trade rumors that had him headed to the Chicago White Sox if the Red Sox had been able to work a deal with the Texas Rangers to get AL MVP Alex Rodriguez in exchange for outfielder Manny Ramirez. “The season is starting and that’s the focus.”

AP-ES-04-02-04 1839EST