Swisher (knee) will start his rehab assignment at Triple-A Columbus on Friday but could be looking at a prolonged rehab before rejoining the Indians, MLB.com reports. "I think what we've said all along is we want him to have the best chance of being healthy so he can come up and compete -- not hopefully get a hit and have to go 80 percent around the bases. That's not really helping anyone, especially as hard as he's worked. You want a guy to have a chance to go out there and be competitive, not just go from Point A to B," manager Terry Francona said. Swisher's possible rehab stint is capped at 21 days but it sounds like he may be expected to utilize most of that time as he works his way back from double knee surgery. A return in early-to-mid May may be in the cards as a result depending on his progress.