Jameson Taillon said he plans to pitch again this season, but the Pittsburgh Pirates ace first has to throw.

Taillon’s road to recovery will take a big step this weekend, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said, when the 27-year-old right-hander plays catch for the first time since going on the injured list in early May with a flexor tendon strain in his right elbow.

“It depends on when I pick up the ball for the first time and I start progressing in the throwing program,” Taillon said Friday before the Pirates played the Milwaukee Brewers at PNC Park.

“We don’t have an exact set thing. For now, we’re piecing things together. After the All-Star break, we’re going to sit down and map it out a little more. But the way I’m feeling right now and with the good news we’ve gotten, my plan is to pitch this year. God forbid if something happens in my throwing program, we’ll have to readdress it. But I am planning on pitching.”

Taillon received encouraging news this week in his recovery, as tests show signs of healing. But he compared his rehabilitation timeframe to spring training, meaning it could take as long as six weeks. Taillon was 2-3, with a 4.10 ERA in 37 1/3 innings over seven starts this season after going 14-10 with a 3.20 ERA in 191 innings over 32 starts last season.

Taillon has overcome Tommy John surgery, a hernia operation and testicular cancer in his career.

“When those things happen, you just give the man time,” Hurdle said. “That’s what serves us best: We focus on the man, not on us and what we’ve lost. It’s about what he needs to move forward. I think that helps. It’s a mentality of service before self.”

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