But the Braves don't seem too concerned about the right external oblique strain that the veteran third baseman suffered while playing for the United States in the World Baseball Classic on Sunday night.

"It might be 2-3 days, it might be a week," Braves manager Bobby Cox said. "Chipper is smart. He's not going to do anything that could make it worse."

Team USA has qualified for the second round in Miami.

"It'll take a crowbar to keep me out of that next round," Jones told reporters in Toronto on Monday.

Jones' agent, B.B. Abbott, said the veteran switch-hitter told him he exited Sunday's 15-6 win over Venezuela for precautionary reasons after feeling a slight strain in his right side while taking a fifth-inning swing from the left side of the plate.

"He came out before he did anything severe," Abbott said. "He feels he might be ready to play on Wednesday. But because it's not a must-win game, he might wait a few more days and be ready to play this weekend."

The U.S. will play one more Pool C game on Wednesday to determine the seeding for their second-round series, which will begin on Saturday in Miami. Abbott and Cox both said they feel Jones, who has struck out five times while going hitless in seven at-bats during the Classic, could be ready for the second-round games.

Jones felt similar discomfort in his right side while taking batting practice on Sept. 10, 2007. Initially it was thought that he might miss the remainder of the season. But because he took precautionary measures, he was able to return to the lineup just four days later.

In other Braves-related health news, Jordan Schafer, who has been sidelined since Feb. 28 with a sprained left shoulder, felt no limitations while taking soft-toss swings on Monday morning. He'll take regular batting practice on Tuesday and possibly return to Grapefruit League action on Wednesday.

"I kind of opened it up a little bit today and it was fine," Schafer said.