DUNEDIN, Fla. -- Vernon Wells doesn't plan on missing Opening Day. The Blue Jays center fielder also isn't expecting to miss more than a few weeks after straining his left hamstring during the team's workout on Monday.

After reviewing the results of an MRI exam performed on his leg, and being all too familiar with the injury, Wells said he believes he can recover sooner than Toronto's initial estimation of one month. Wells suffered the same setback last season and needed roughly four weeks to return to action. He's hoping for a quicker comeback this time around.

"I think that was the worst-case scenario," said Wells, referring to the club's one-month prognosis. "We didn't know what it was going to be and looking back at last year that's what it was, it was four weeks. I think this time, obviously, having had that injury and knowing what needs to be done, it shouldn't take that long."

Wells suffered a Grade 2 strain of his left hamstring last July 9, while stealing third base in a game against the Orioles. On Monday, Wells re-injured the same leg during running drills at the end of the Blue Jays' workout at the Bobby Mattick Training Center.

The injury occurred due to a breaking up of scar tissue in Wells' hamstring -- a problem that the center fielder said may or may not be a recurring issue. When he originally strained the hamstring, Wells said he tore the tendon differently than typical strains in that area.

"[The doctors] said normally when you tear a tendon, you tear it straight across," Wells explained. "Somehow, I decided to do something different. When your body heals itself, it's going to have scar tissue and it's kind of an odd place. It's one of those things that you just hope it doesn't reoccur, but most likely it will."

Wells will hold off on running drills for the time being, and Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston has no intention of playing the outfielder in any spring games over the next few weeks. Wells said he'll continue to work on strengthening exercises and added that he should be able to resume hitting before too long.

"Last year when I did it, I was able to hit soon thereafter," Wells said. "Hopefully, my swing will be where it needs to be in a couple weeks when I hopefully start playing again. I'll try to get back as quick as possible, but we'll just let it heal."

Gaston had planned on giving Wells the go-ahead to steal more bases this season, but that isn't likely to be the case any longer. Gaston also said that having Wells change positions, or using him more often as the designated hitter this season, aren't being considered at this point. Wells might DH at the start of the season, but he's still slated to be the regular center fielder.

The Jays might just have to live with the fact that it's the kind of injury that will present a constant risk.

"We might have some concern, but what can you do about it?" Gaston said. "I just think it's something that you can't protect. No matter what you do, you can't protect it. Baseball is a game of quick starts and stops. A quick start could set it off or a quick stop, so there's not much you can do."

Gaston then chuckled to himself.

"I think the only thing you could do is play like we did as kids sometimes: DH him and let somebody run for him from home plate," he said with a laugh.

The setback was especially frustrating for Wells, because he hired a personal trainer over the offseason to help him get into better physical condition. During the season, the trainer will work with Wells before games in Toronto and the center fielder said he'll be joining him on several road trips throughout the year.

Wells decided to add the trainer to hopefully avoid some of the nagging injuries he's suffered in recent seasons. Last year, Wells strained both hamstrings at various points in the season and also fractured his left wrist during a diving catch on May 10. In 2007, Wells played through a left shoulder injury and underwent surgery the following offseason.

"I worked my tail off all offseason," Wells said. "But, this is an injury that unfortunately I suffered last year and they said there's going to be some issues. They said there could be a possibility of it never coming back, but when there's scar tissue in an area and it's that delicate of an area, you never know what can happen."

Fortunately for the Blue Jays' sake, Wells does have a history of being a quick healer.

After breaking his wrist last season, it was first believed that Wells would be sidelined for six to eight weeks. Wells then returned from the disabled list in less than a month. After straining his hamstring in July, Wells was told he'd be out for four to six weeks, and he returned one month later. He also made the most of his time in the lineup, hitting .300 with 20 homers and 78 RBIs in 108 games.

Wells said this strain isn't as bad as the one he suffered last season and indicated that he might have tried to play through it if it hadn't happened so early in Spring Training. He added that he doesn't believe he'll need to split time between center field and designated hitter this season to possibly help avoid a reoccurance.

"It didn't feel as bad as last year," Wells said. "That's why I didn't think it was going to be that big of a deal. I think it's something that if I needed to get through it now I could, but this time of the year it's basically get healthy and get ready for the season."

The injury also occurred only a couple days after the news came that Wells wouldn't be able to take part in the World Baseball Classic. Wells exceeded the number of days allowed on the DL last season for participating players, and Team USA was having issues acquiring insurance for Wells due to his seven-year, $126 million contract with the Blue Jays.

"It's a good thing they didn't insure me," Wells said with a laugh.