Kemp's recovery from ankle injury going slow

CHICAGO -- Dodgers center fielder Matt Kemp, who's on the 15-day disabled list, continues his slow recovery from what turned out to be a significantly sprained left ankle.

Kemp, still wearing a restrictive walking boot most of the time, resumed playing catch with medical director Stan Conte and, barring another setback, will resume other baseball activities next week when the team is in St. Louis.

But Kemp tried to play catch earlier this week and had to be shut down because of continued discomfort in the ankle, which he injured sliding into home plate on July 21 after making a baserunning mistake.

"I just think it was a lot worse than we were hoping, when we thought it would just be a couple of days," said manager Don Mattingly, who initially was told the injury didn't appear to be severe. "He got it pretty good."

It was the third disabling injury for Kemp this year. Because he hasn't been able to run or swing, Kemp will essentially need a Spring Training's worth of conditioning to be in playing shape, which is why the club doesn't expect him back until September.