Ellis sees immediate benefits from knee surgery

LOS ANGELES -- Catcher A.J. Ellis walked into the Dodgers' dugout for his media session on Wednesday afternoon without the aid of crutches, a little more than a day after the torn meniscus in his left knee was surgically repaired.

"I've already seen dividends from the surgery," said Ellis, who was hurt trying to score from second on an Andre Ethier hit Saturday against the Giants. "I felt much better this morning than I did yesterday walking into surgery."

Ellis had a similar procedure on the same knee after the 2012 season, so he knows the territory.

'It's something we'd been managing since Spring Training started," he said of the injury. "It wasn't getting better, but it wasn't getting worse."

The worst turn came when he planted to round third base "and felt something in my left knee."

On Sunday, Ellis made the decision "to get it taken care of and get back on the field as soon as I can, as soon as my body lets me.

"It was a similar surgery," Ellis said. "I felt good afterward. I'm excited to get this process going and get back on the field. I'm not going to put a timetable on it yet."

Ellis' prognosis for recovery time is 4-6 weeks. The Dodgers' No. 1 catcher expressed confidence in his replacements, Tim Federowicz and Drew Butera.

"Drew and Fed are really bright guys who do a great job behind the plate and calling games," Ellis said. "I'm just going to be a resource for them."

Manager Don Mattingly said: "Knowing the kind of guy A.J. is, he's going to help them a lot."