Outfielder Josh Willingham is still injured, but he may not need surgery to repair his torn meniscus as originally reported. Mike Rizzo spoke with Ben Goessling on Friday afternoon and left open the possibility that Willingham could avoid surgery:
"Surgery hasn't been scheduled. I don't think it's a foregone conclusion that it's surgery yet. Let's see if he needs it first."
However, if Willingham does avoid surgery, that doesn't mean he will be back in a Nationals uniform before the season ends. The expected recovery time for Willingham's injury would be 4-5 weeks, and you can be sure the Nationals will be in no rush to get one of their best hitters back on the field before he's completely healthy.