TAMPA, Fla. — Yankees center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury said he expects to return but doesn’t know when it’ll happen.

That sentence wasn’t copied and pasted. It was just more of the same from Ellsbury, who arrived to spring training Sunday and spoke to reporters for the first time Monday morning.

When will he play again? He’s not sure.

“The timetable is as soon as possible. It’s hard to give an exact day, a week. We’re doing everything and baseball activities. That’s the good news. We stay optimistic, just put the work in," said Ellsbury, who will start the season on the disabled list.

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Can he still be an impact player? He didn’t say.

“Been working hard,” Ellsbury said. “Going five, six days a week. Going six, seven hours a day. Putting in the time to be in the position right here. Looking forward to helping out on the field this season.”

Ellsbury is still owed $47 million. That’s $21 million a year in 2019 and 2020 and a $5-million buyout for 2021.

Ellsbury hasn’t played since 2017.

He missed all of last season thanks to a variety of injuries. In spring training, he suffered a right oblique strain, and started the year on the disabled list. He also suffered from foot and back pain. On Aug. 7, his season officially ended when he had arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left hip.

Ellsbury was late to spring training because, while rehabbing the hip, he aggravated plantar fasciitis in his right heel and the Yankees decided it would be better for him to continue his workouts at home in Phoenix.

On Monday, Ellsbury said he’s dealt with the plantar fasciitis for years and that it’s something he’ll have to manage.

Asked what it’s been like emotionally for him to miss a full season, Ellsbury didn’t divulge much.

“You want to be out there for sure,” he said. “That’s why I put in the time, put in the work. You want to be out there, you want to contribute. You want to be part of the team. The best way for me to do that right now is just put the work in the gym, in the training room, in the batting cage — that sort of thing. If I do that, I’ll be back on the field quicker."

Since signing his $153 million, seven-year deal before the 2014 season, Ellsbury has been a bust, hitting .264 with 39 home runs, 198 RBI and 102 stolen bases in 520 games.

“I still have to build up. I’m still doing my running and lifting and all the stretching that comes with the hip surgery. It’s hard to say right now (when I’ll return). I think in the coming days — we’re putting a plan together now. We’ll kind of just map out kind of what we’re doing over the next week, the next two weeks.”

Brendan Kuty may be reached at bkuty@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrendanKutyNJ. Find NJ.com Yankees on Facebook.