Masataka Yoshida won’t need surgery on his left thumb, but his return to the Red Sox lineup is far from imminent.

After getting a third opinion, the designated hitter confirmed the prognosis to Japanese media on Friday afternoon.

“No surgery,” Alex Cora reiterated. “So that’s good news. Now we just gotta wait. Obviously treatment and see how he feels in (a) few weeks.”

Yoshida was able to participate in some of the team’s on-field drills on Friday afternoon, but his work will be limited for some time. “No baseball activities, I mean, no swinging” the Red Sox manager said. “But at least we know that at one point, he’s gonna be available and he’s gonna be able to help us.”

Through 24 games, Yoshida was 22-for-80 (.275) with three doubles and a pair of home runs, six walks, and 11 strikeouts. He’s scored 12 runs and driven in 11.

Yoshida exited the team’s April 28 game with a left-hand injury. Two days later, Cora announced that the designated hitter would see a specialist and undergo an MRI. Before the testing was even completed the following afternoon, the Red Sox had placed him on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to Apr. 29). Asked if he thought Yoshida would pick up a bat in June, Cora declined to set a firm timetable.

“His hand is huge,” Cora said at the time. “Hopefully we know what’s going on and we’ll take care of him, 10 days and he’ll be back.”

Ten days later, the diagnosis isn’t the worst-case scenario, but it’s far from ideal.

More Red Sox injury updates

After making a rehab start with Double-A Portland on Tuesday, Brayan Bello is trending towards a return from the injured list.

“As of now, everything is trending in the right direction,” Cora said. “There’s a chance he’ll pitch Sunday (in the Majors).”