Rodgers Cleared to Resume Duties : Angels: Manager who suffered serious injuries in May 21 bus accident could return to the dugout as soon as Friday.

Angel Manager Buck Rodgers received medical clearance Monday to return to the dugout as soon as he feels ready. But Rodgers--who only took his first steps without crutches Monday--said he will cautiously test his progress before deciding whether to return to managing Friday when the Angels play Chicago at Anaheim Stadium.

“They gave me my walking papers and basically said the injury is healed,” said Rodgers, who underwent surgery on his left knee and right elbow because of injuries sustained in the team’s May 21 bus accident. “Now it’s just a matter of walking, seeing how long it takes to break my legs back in. My legs are still jelly-like after being sidelined 2 1/2 months.”

Rodgers, who was using a wheelchair until about three weeks ago, said he there is a 60% chance he will return Friday. If he does, he will have missed 70 games. Should he not feel comfortable with his ability to walk then, he might return later in the six-game home stand, but he will not attempt to return while the team is on the road.

“I’m kind of tippy-toeing through the tulips, trying to get confidence with every step,” he said. “If I wake up in the morning with a swollen knee, I’ll have to back off.”

Rodgers has been eager to rejoin the Angels, a team, he said, “(that) is playing super.”

“It is hard to resist, but it’s tough walking down steps right now and reality sets in,” he said. “Right now, when you get up to turn the television up or down, it’s still an adventure. When walking becomes something I don’t have to think about, I’ll be ready. Right now I have to think about it. I have to get experience and get confidence every time I face a step or an incline. It’s an adventure--something I don’t wish on anybody.”

Rodgers said he has not yet secured an attorney to pursue legal action against the bus company or driver.

“A number of people have indicated there will be some kind of action,” he said. “I’m sure there will be, but I’m not at liberty to talk about it.”

He received clearance to return to the dugout from team orthopedist Lewis Yocum after an exam Monday at the Kerlan-Jobe Clinic in Inglewood.

“In the X-rays we took today, everything looks good; the bone is healing nicely,” Yocum said. “He walked without much of a limp, really surprisingly well.”

Yocum said that though the injuries are basically healed, Rodgers faces a long road of continued daily and even twice daily rehabilitation sessions. Rodgers has limited range of motion in his surgically repaired right elbow, and Yocum said it isn’t known how much range he will recover.

Yocum said Rodgers should not face any particular problems in the dugout, though he noted he will have to keep a careful eye out for hazards--even something as common as tobacco juice on the dugout floor.

“He’ll have to be careful, feel his way around,” Yocum said. “He’s not going to go run out on the field, but he can go (on the field). (Rodgers’ wife) Judy was concerned about him being able to dodge foul balls, but that’s not going to be a problem.”

Whether Rodgers returns Friday will be his decision, based on his own sense of his progress.

“He will be there, I assume, knowing Buck,” Yocum said. “But the progress he’s had to make is something you can’t muscle through. There are certain limitations, it doesn’t matter how strong a will or constitution you have.”

Rodgers is taking his first careful steps without using so much as a cane to steady himself.

“If I have to use a cane, I won’t come back until I can walk,” he said. “Basically I’ve got to take care of this injury first. I don’t want to come back hobbling and wobbling with a cane.”