JUPITER, Fla. • Injured Cardinals shortstop Jhonny Peralta, rehabilitating from a torn ligament in his left thumb, was back in Cardinals camp Thursday to see the doctor and then begin some cardio work before he returns to St. Louis for the home opener on April 11.

Peralta, of course, won’t be playing in that game but he is optimistic about a possible return before the late June/July scenario that had been forecast for him.

“Everything is doing well,” said Peralta in a nearly empty Cardinals clubhouse on Thursday morning.

“I don’t know when I’m coming back,” said Peralta, who hasn’t started any baseball drills yet. “Maybe it will be earlier than what they think.”

Peralta was injured when he jammed his glove into the ground trying to make a sliding stop of a ground ball in the first weekend of exhibition games in March. He said he was told by the doctor Thursday he could begin doing some work with his injured hand in two weeks.