Between Jerry Manuel's less than positive outlook on Carlos Delgado's condition and the prospect of surgery, most of us Mets fans have come to accept the idea that Delgado might not be returning this year.

Delgado is an older player, which will make him slower to recover and with the amount of torque he places on his hips, it will be hard for him to rush back.

Also to be considered is the fact that were already into the second month of the season.

But the Mets believe that even if Delgado needs surgery he may return by August...

If Carlos Delgado needs hip surgery, the Mets think he can be back by Aug. 1, so right now their plan is to give Gary Sheffield a full-time shot in left field, move Daniel Murphy to first base, and use both of them with Fernando Tatis and Ryan Church in a LF-RF-1B rotation. source ESPN