Michael Morse could be back with the Nationals at the start of June

Here’s some rare good news for the Nationals on the injury front.

The original goal was for Michael Morse to be ready to return from his torn right lat on June 8 so he could be eased back into the lineup as the designated hitter during interleague play, but Nationals manager Davey Johnson told Mark Zuckerman of CSNWashington.com today that the 30-year-old slugger hopes be ready as soon as June 1.

“That was my day [June 8],” Johnson said. “I threw that out there trying to give the trainers and the doctors a date that I wanted him back swinging, because he could DH against the American League clubs on the eighth. We’d been set for that for about three weeks, and he came to me and said: ‘When you come off the road trip, I’ll be ready.’ But he’s feeling his oats.”

Morse has only recently resumed swinging a bat and playing catch after being shut down in April, so there’s no guarantee he’ll be ready by then. He plans to go to extended spring training in Viera, Florida next week to get some at-bats and could head out on a minor league rehab assignment from there if all goes well.

Morse, 30, has a .298/.357/.539 batting line to go along with 46 homers, 136 RBI and an .896 OPS in 244 games dating back to the start of the 2010 season. He should provide a major boost to the Nationals’ offense, as their left fielders enter tonight’s action with a major-league worst .154 batting average and .511 OPS.