Phillies closer Brad Lidge told MLB.com that it’s unlikely he will be ready to start the regular season following offseason knee and elbow surgery.

“It’s going to be really tough to be ready for the opener,” Lidge said. “In my mind I’m still shooting for it, but I don’t know if that’s realistic.”

Lidge said he is shooting for a series against the Nationals, which begins on Apr. 12. Lidge had his first outing today, throwing 16 pitches in a Double A Spring Training game. He allowed three hits and one run in one inning.

“All in all for my first outing I would say I was pretty pleased,” Lidge said. “My knee felt real strong. A couple location problems. The command isn’t really spectacular right now. I’m pleased with where my arm is, it’s just going to take however many more outings to get behind the ball and get through it to get the velocity going. But in terms of problems, no. I was very encouraged there were no problems.”