DOWNTOWN — Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols said he’s “frustrated” because of his injury, he’s disappointed because “we’re having a good season here” and then he said he was “excited.” Excited?

Excited, he explained, because the injury could have been worse.

When Pujols broke from the batter’s box the other night in Cincinnati and felt a “pop” in his left calf, he was concerned that the injury was severe enough to end his season or at least eat a chunk right out of the middle of it. Pujols had an MRI taken of the injury and while loaded with inflammation it is a moderate strain that will likely keep him out of the lineup for three weeks.

Pujols, in his first comments since the diagnosis, called himself a “quick healer.”

“If it feels better in two weeks, then I’ll be ready to go,” Pujols said Friday. “Hopefully I can com back soon and be out there and try to help my team out to win. They’re doing a good job. Right now we’re 1-1. Hopefully they can continue to play great until I come back and pick them up.”

Pujols was placed on the 15-day disabled list Thursday with the calf injury, and he’ll spend the next couple days doing little else but receiving treatment. He said that in three or four days he hopes to begin hitting again. The only thing he expects not to be able to do for several weeks is run.

He does not expect to travel with the team, but said he could rejoin them when they visit Kansas City — not necessarily to be activated.

“I have a series in mind,” he said. “But right now we don’t know. Not even the trainers know. We don’t know until I can run again.”

This is the second time in his career that Pujols has been put on the DL. He is hitting .347 with 16 home runs — tied for the team-high with Ryan Ludwick — and 42 RBIs. Before Friday’s game, he said he thinks he’s been “more patient than ever” at the plate and has “felt good.” The calf injury first appeared last week in Washington, though he returned to the field for all three games in Houston after not starting either game in a doubleheader against the Nationals.

He said two steps out of the box against Cincinnati he knew he was in trouble.

The first one hurt.

The second one he couldn’t put any weight on the injured leg.

“Definitely it popped,” he said. “That’s why I went straight to the ground. I felt a big pop, and I don’t think I could take another step. It wasn’t bothering me at all (before leaving the box). … It’s disappointing. We’re having a good year as a team, playing great. Just getting hurt and missing some games. I’m pretty (ticked) off. What can you say, man? Everything happens for a reason.

“I just have to make sure I do whatever I have to do to come back soon,” he concluded. ”So I can be ready and so I don’t miss anything.”

More on Pujols and the other healing Cardinals in Saturday’s Post-Dispatch and later tonight on StlToday.com.

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