Marlins' Stanton: Facial fractures will take up to 8 weeks to heal

Miami Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton addressed the media Thursday for the first time since a pitch to the face caused multiple facial fractures, prematurely ending his season.

Stanton revealed that doctors anticipate up to an eight week recovery time to fully heal. He sustained an orbital fracture, but says his vision is no longer impaired.

"The swelling is way down, much better than I envisioned," Stanton said via Marlins beat reporter Joe Frisaro. "Just got to get the grill fixed, and go from there."

The 24-year-old outfielder plans to undergo another CT scan to determine if he can fly, in addition to more dental work. He's also considering wearing added protection for his face when he first gets back in the batter's box, but didn't elaborate on exactly the kind of device he would use.

The National League MVP candidate was hit by a Mike Fiers pitch on Sept. 11, but says he doesn't hold a grudge against the Milwaukee Brewers right-hander, who reached out to him via text message after the incident.

"(Fiers) said, obviously, it wasn't on purpose," Stanton added. "He said how sorry he was. He said it's been tough to sleep the first few nights and stuff. It was a good message."

Stanton's .288 average, 37 homers and 105 RBIs still has him in the conversation, along with Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw, for MVP consideration, despite suffering the season-ending injury.