Jimmy Rollins left the Phillies 5-2 win over the Mets yesterday in what has been diagnosed as an ankle sprain. Rollins was going back to second base after a pickoff attempt and says he heard something pop. Rollins finished the inning and came around the score on a Chase Utley double. Eric Bruntlett came in as a defensive replacement in the bottom of the inning.

While in most cases anytime you head a pop, the worst is feared, in this case it might not be so bad. After the game, Rollins was only mildly limping and is considered day-to-day. While it’s a scare for the Phillies, Rollins doesn’t see it as a big deal.

“The ankle is fine,” he said. “I’m able to walk pretty much without a limp. It’s just when I did it I heard a nice little pop and it felt like somebody dropped a weight on my foot. I probably could have gone out there (to play shortstop in the eighth inning), but me at 50 percent and (Eric) Bruntlett at 100 percent, I’d rather have him out there. I don’t know what happened. I guess my cleat got stuck. I was more concerned about my knee popping than anything, but the ankle went. Ankle or the knee, I’d rather have the ankle any day. It feels fine right now. We’ll see how it feels over night, try to get off of it as much as I can. The way it feels right now I’ll be able to go, but we’ll see.”

It’s early in the season, and missing a few games to rest his ankle wouldn’t be a bad thing. But this is Jimmy Rollins we’re talking about. He’s a gamer. While there’s a chance Rollins will miss tonight’s game against the Mets, if he can walk, he’ll be in the starting lineup.