Carl Crawford had a rough year in 2011, culminated with his misplay on a sinking liner in Game 162 that allowed the winning run to score and kept the Red Sox out of the playoffs.

The rough year was probably caused, at least in part, by a wrist injury for which he had arthroscopic surgery in January. Now, after a couple of setbacks, Crawford and the Red Sox are admitting the Red Sox outfielder won’t be ready for Opening Day:

Crawford will open the season on the disabled list and is expected to continue his rehab in Fort Myers when the Sox head north next week. Though [manager Bobby] Valentine wouldn’t nail down a timetable, it seems like late April is the earliest possible date Crawford could return to the lineup.

These things always take longer than you think they will, or than any team official says they will. So if Valentine says “late April”, you can probably start thinking “sometime in May, maybe”.

For more on Crawford and the Red Sox, please visit Over The Monster.