Rivera won’t return soon from injury

Juan Rivera’s English is a little broken -- not to the extent his left shin was shattered in a Venezuelan winter-league game Dec. 22, but enough that the Angels outfielder prefers to use an interpreter for interviews.

But no translator was required to understand how severely Rivera injured his leg after stepping on the foot of a pitcher covering first base while running out a grounder.

“I looked down, and my shin was going this way and my foot was going down,” Rivera said, pointing at a 90-degree angle from his shin. “I could see the bone.”

Rivera, who was on crutches when he arrived in Angels camp Monday, thought immediately of his future.

“I think, maybe I don’t play baseball anymore,” Rivera said. “But later that night, I thought in my mind I would be back.”

Not for awhile. Rivera, who underwent surgery in Miami on Dec. 27 to have a rod and screws inserted into the tibia, hopes to be back by June, but probably won’t return until after the All-Star break.

Rivera, who hit .310 with 23 home runs and 85 runs batted in last season, began physical therapy Monday. He’ll spend five weeks rehabilitating in Arizona before returning to Miami for X-rays, which will gauge how quickly he is healing.

“The doctor in Miami told me it’s healing fast,” Rivera said. “He told me he doesn’t want me using crutches, but I have to because my knee feels weak.”

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Though the chances of Jered Weaver being ready for the regular season diminish with each week he is unable to throw off a mound, the Angels have advised the right-hander not to rush his recovery from biceps tendinitis and not to feel pressured to be ready by opening day.

“A lot of guys have a biological clock -- they see opening day come around and think they have to be ready,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “You have to take that out of a player’s mentality.... You can’t rush it.”

Weaver, 11-2 with a 2.56 earned-run average as a rookie, remains on a long-toss regimen and won’t throw off a mound until next week, at the earliest.

With only two scheduled off days in the first 35 days of the season, the Angels will need a full five-man rotation in April, and Scioscia said there is still enough time, barring a setback, for Weaver to open the season with the Angels.

But there’s a chance Weaver will have to remain in Arizona for extended spring training and make several minor league rehabilitation starts before being activated.

“What is going to influence him is where his body is, where his shoulder is, not opening day,” Scioscia said.

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When the Angels traded Brendan Donnelly to Boston for Phil Seibel, a left-hander who started for most of his five professional seasons, they told Seibel there was a chance he’d start for the Angels.

But even with Weaver’s setback, Scioscia said Seibel will remain in the bullpen. If Weaver isn’t ready to open the season, Dustin Moseley, Chris Bootcheck or reliever Hector Carrasco would be the team’s fifth starter.

“We think Seibel’s role is out of the bullpen,” Scioscia said. “I think with his stuff, he’s well-suited for relief, whether it’s as a left-handed specialist or a guy who could throw one or two innings.”

mike.digiovanna@latimes.com