PITTSBURGH — Los Angeles Dodgers infielder Nomar Garciaparra did not badly injure his left knee while stumbling on the basepaths and could be ready to play this weekend against San Francisco.

Garciaparra apparently broke loose some scar tissue during Wednesday's 15-8 loss in Pittsburgh, but did not cause additional damage to a previously sprained ligament, manager Joe Torre said today.

"It's probably going to be a couple of days," Torre said. "He's had that leg beat up before. It may have been a plus he had previous problems because there was a certain looseness about it that kept it from being worse than it seems to be. There's stability there."

Garciaparra, limited to 50 games this season because of injuries, was trying to score from second on a two-out single in the fifth inning when he decided to change direction midway between third and home. He slipped as his left knee gave way and spent several minutes on the ground before getting up and walking tentatively to the Dodgers' dugout.

The former Red Sox shortstop has been on the disabled list three times this season with a broken right hand, a strained left calf and left knee irritation.