Konerko unsure when he'll be back

Last September, Paul Konerko was hit on the side of his face by a pitch from Twins starter Carl Pavano.

Konerko stayed in the game.

The White Sox captain's threshold for pain is well known, but Konerko was not able to bounce right back from an injury suffered during Sunday's loss to the Red Sox.

In the fourth inning, Boston starter Andrew Miller hit Konerko with a pitch on the side of his left knee.

He stayed in the game but was unable to come back out in the fifth.

Konerko wasn't feeling much better Monday and didn't play against the Yankees.

“It's about the same, just real stiff, real sore,” Konerko said. “I've never really been hit where I got hit or as hard as I got hit. It was pretty good. It's really weak, really stiff.”

Konerko has been receiving steady treatment, but he has no idea about a return date.

“I couldn't imagine taking a swing right now,” Konerko said. “You hope it gets out of there quickly. It's my front leg and you've got to move around the field. But that front leg, hitting wise, that front foot is going to be planted and you're going to torque everything you have against it, so I'll know right away whether I can or cannot do something.

“You know you can, you're off and running, even if there is some discomfort. You know once you can do it, the adrenaline gets you over that last hump but you've got to get to that point first. Right now I'm not.”

Smooth Sale:Chris Sale breezed through another relief outing Monday, pitching 2 scoreless innings against the Yankees.The left-hander has allowed only 4 earned runs in 33#8531; innings over his last 24 games, lowering his ERA from 6.48 to 2.88.#8220;I got a lot of help through all of that from coaches and teammates because they have all been here before,#8221; Sale said of his rocky early start. #8220;It was good a little bit for me to struggle because of being able to come back from that and realize, #8216;Hey, it's not the end of the world when it does happen and there's another side to it.'#8220;You can pitch terribly and come back and start throwing the ball well. It's keeping an even keel while I was going through those bad stretches to not dig myself a hole or anything or kick myself in the butt. Just keeping my head up and try to go out there and get them the next time.#8221;Missing captains:Paul Konerko didn't play for the White Sox on Monday, and the Yankees were also missing their captain.Derek Jeter was hit by a pitch from the Orioles' Jake Arrieta Sunday and is out with a sore right middle finger.#8220;It's good,#8221; White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. #8220;No matter who they put out there, he's not going to be Jeter. I'm a big-time Jeter fan, huge. He's one of the best players on the field to ever play this game.#8221;