Justin Morneau, who has been out since last Friday night with a bruised right lung, wants to return to the lineup Thursday, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said following tonight’s 5-4 loss to the Blue Jays.

Morneau was cleared to participate in baseball drills earlier today. He was in the batting cage, drilling soft tosses from hitting coach Joe Vavra. Morneau will take batting practice on the field Thursday morning.

“He said he felt great [today], so we’ll see what happens,” Gardenhire said. ”They [team doctors] recommend Friday, but he talked like he wanted to get in there tomorrow. We’ll see. He’s kind of excited.”

If not Thursday, Morneau seems like a sure thing to DH the next series against Detroit.

“Mourny’s real close,” Gardenhire said. ”He could be available tomorrow. Definitely for Friday. We’re probably going to DH him the whole weekend. They told me we’d be able to use him. Start out using him as a DH, and move on from there.”

Look for updates here Thursday morning.

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