Milwaukee Brewers shortstop J.J. Hardy, a native Tucsonan and a Sabino High School graduate, played in only 35 games last season because of an ankle injury.

benjie sanders / arizona daily star

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J.J. Hardy swallows a couple of Aleve pills a day to relieve the pain.

If he does not take the medicine, his right ankle will feel tight. The ankle still sometimes aches when he runs the bases. He said it will take time to trust the ankle and not feel any pain.

Otherwise, the ankle does not hurt when he is playing shortstop or swinging a bat. Hardy has declared himself healthy for his 2007 season with the Milwaukee Brewers.

It is about time. Hardy, a 2001 Sabino High School graduate and Tucson native, has dealt with major injuries in two of his last three baseball seasons. Last year, his second in the majors, he sprained his right ankle and underwent season-ending surgery in July. His season was lost after he played just 35 games.

After an off-season full of 7 a.m. rehab sessions, Hardy is ready to play a full season as the Brewers starting shortstop.

"I'm very anxious," he said before he went 1 for 3 with an RBI double in the Brewers' 9-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks Monday at Tucson Electric Park. He left about 20 tickets for family and friends to attend this homecoming game. "Last year was really tough because I got hurt so soon. I need to stay healthy. I'm excited."

Hardy, 24, sprained the inner part of the ankle when he slid into home plate and collided with Philadelphia catcher Sal Fasano during a May 16 game. Hardy said Fasano did not budge, while his ankle turned.

Hardy had to be helped off the field. After weeks of treatment and seemingly steady progress, he said he felt a tendon on the outside of the ankle keep "snapping" out of place. He underwent surgery to repair the tendon on July 20.

Hardy left Milwaukee for Maryvale, where he rehabbed from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. five days a week at the Brewers minor-league complex. Upset that he was not playing, he did not watch Brewers games.

"It just kind of put me in a bad mood to see everyone else playing and me being hurt and rehabbing," Hardy said.

While Hardy was out, his replacement, Bill Hall, thrived, leading the Brewers with 35 home runs. So the question loomed whether Hardy would return as the starter.

"I didn't know what to think," Hardy said. "It was one of those things I try not to worry about because I can't control it. I was happy for him because he's one of my really good friends."

The Brewers opted to move Hall to center, and by January, Hardy moved on to baseball activities.

"Once they told (Hall) he was moving to the outfield, it made me feel pretty good considering as well as he did they still have faith in me," Hardy said.

The Brewers didn't waver in their confidence in Hardy, manager Ned Yost said.

"He's an outstanding young man and an outstanding young player," Yost said.

"He's a tremendous defensive player. He's got a chance to be a really, really solid offensive player, one of the best offensive shortstops in the National League. He's got great makeup for a young man. He's got tremendous leadership skills. He's the total package for a young player."

Yost said the Brewers were disappointed to lose his defense, and that he lost about 300 at-bats, which would have been crucial for his development.

After hitting .242 last season, Hardy insists he does not have specific statistical goals. If he remains healthy, he said, he hopes success will follow. He is hitting .295 this spring.

Hardy admits he likely has adopted an injury-prone label. He dislocated his left shoulder while swinging a bat in Triple-A in 2004. He also suffered a torn labrum that required surgery. The injury hurt him in 2005; he said he did not trust the strength of the shoulder early on. He finished the season hitting .247 with 22 doubles, nine home runs and 50 RBIs in 124 games.

And then came the ankle injury that wiped out most of 2006.

"I feel like I've kind of got that (injury-prone) label already," Hardy said. "At least my injuries have been baseball injuries. They haven't been (me being) unhealthy, tearing hamstrings every year or something like that. I was sliding into home plate. It could have happened to anyone.

"It was just bad luck, and hopefully this year I can stay healthy and go out there and play and not have to worry about that."