PHILADELPHIA -- Jean Segura has been bouncing around the Citizens Bank Park infield the past couple days.

He is fielding ground balls. He is antsy.

Segura broke his right index finger on May 31 and had surgery on June 3. The Phillies said then that he would miss 10-12 weeks. The 10-week mark is August 12, which means he is nearly five weeks into his recovery. But Segura said Wednesday that he plans to beat his original timeline and rejoin the Phils¡¯ lineup earlier than expected.

¡°I¡¯m not letting this thing go 10 to 12 weeks,¡± he said. ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s going to happen. As soon as I feel I can grip the bat and take a couple of swings ¡­¡±

Segura laughed.

¡°I don¡¯t need more than that,¡± he said.

Segura, who had three pins removed from his finger last week, is scheduled to meet with doctors Monday. He will know then if can take the next steps in his recovery, which includes hitting and throwing.

So he really thinks he could be back before 10 weeks?

¡°The way we look right now, probably,¡± Segura said. ¡°I still have a couple of tests -- gripping the ball, throwing, hitting. So if everything goes well in the next couple of weeks, we might. ¡­ I¡¯ve been doing some aggressive therapy. Getting it moving. The more I move it, the quicker it will heal, and I¡¯ll get mobility. When mobility is 70 to 80 percent, I think that¡¯s enough for me to play.¡±

The Phillies dropped to 21-29 the night Segura broke his finger. The team is 22-9 since. Tuesday, the Phillies moved into a tie with the Cardinals for the third NL Wild Card spot.

Segura is missing the fun, and it is eating at him.

¡°To be honest, I¡¯m really jealous,¡± he said. ¡°The boys look really good out there. They looked relaxed. They look happy. Everybody wants to be a part of that. They¡¯ve been playing really well. They have faced good teams and beat them. Even with myself and Bryce [Harper] out, they can beat any team in the game right now.¡±

Segura batted .275 with six home runs, 19 RBIs, a .731 OPS and a 106 OPS+ before the injury. Phillies second basemen (Bryson Stott, Yairo Mu?oz, Matt Vierling, Johan Camargo and Nick Maton) have a combined .816 OPS since then. But Segura¡¯s return would allow the Phils to shift some of those players to the left side of the infield, if they want. Philadelphia's shortstops are 26th in the Majors with a combined .606 OPS, while the club's third basemen are 18th with a combined .673 OPS.

It is mentioned that the return of Segura and Harper, who had left thumb surgery last week, would be like two big trade pickups for the Phillies.

¡°Yeah,¡± Segura said. ¡°Coming off the IL, why not? Me and Bryce, that¡¯s it.¡±