According to William Ladson, Washington Nationals short stop Ian Desmond will take batting practice on Saturday for the first time since being placed on the DL on July 22nd with an oblique injury:

Ian Desmond, currently on the disabled list because of an oblique injury, will take hitting practice today in Arizona. #Nats#MLB

— William Ladson (@washingnats) August 11, 2012

The 26-year-old Desmond has been slowed by his injured oblique since June and an MRI showed that he'd torn his left oblique in late July. Desmond took ground balls on Monday but manager Davey Johnson plans to wait another two or three weeks before bringing him back.

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