TORONTO -- Aaron Hill spent Saturday morning leaning on the back of the batting cage, watching a handful of the Blue Jays pitchers take early hitting practice in preparation for upcoming games in National League ballparks.

Toronto's second baseman, clutching a cup of coffee and wearing a T-shirt instead of his Jays jersey, moved down the third-base line and took a seat in the first row of the stands. Hill might've ran through some pregame drills, but he continues to fight a frustrating battle with post-concussion symptoms.

On Friday, Blue Jays manager John Gibbons suggested that Hill might be ready to begin a Minor League rehab assignment by the middle of the upcoming week. First, though, Hill needs to be void of symptoms, which has proved to be an unfortunate stumbling block for the second baseman.

"I would be asymptomatic if I hadn't been doing anything," Hill said. "But the doctors said I could go out and take it slow and everything, and every time I've gone out, I come back with all the same symptoms and worse. Then, it starts off at Day 1 again."

Hill's latest setback came Friday -- a day he could only describe as "terrible." Hill tried turning a few double plays at second base, hit some baseballs off a tee and spent 15 minutes on a stationary bike. It was a light workout and led to more of the same: headaches, dizziness and a sleepless night.

"I couldn't sleep -- the headaches," said Hill, who has worn a weary expression for the past couple weeks. "I don't know. I didn't do anything crazy. Some days are worse than others."

That's why it's unclear how soon Hill can return from the disabled list or, more to the point, how long he'll be forced to sit on the sidelines. It's been two weeks and counting since Hill was struck in the side of the head during a collision with Jays shortstop David Eckstein on May 29 in Oakland.

Hill, 26, would like nothing more than to get back quickly for the Jays, who entered Saturday just six games back of Tampa Bay in the loss column in the American League Wild Card standings. The problem is that Hill understands that there's more to his situation than the standings.

"With this type of thing, it's more than just for your team," Hill said. "It's your career and your life and your family. When I think about that, it quiets me down a little bit. I think I'm giving myself headaches with how mad I've been getting lately. For me, it's unacceptable how long it's been.

"For some people who don't understand, it's like, 'Why can't you just play?' That's what kills me, because I hate this, man. We're in the middle of things and I've got nothing to do.

"This is a huge part of the season right now at this point. We're still not doing that great, but no one else is really doing that great, either. We're still right there. No one else has run away with it."

Hill said the neurologists he's worked with have discussed his situation with Corey Koskie, who suffered a concussion in July 2006 with the Brewers and hasn't played since. Hill said they've also talked to the trainer for Mets outfielder Ryan Church, who is currently on the DL due to post-concussion syndrome.

Church was sidelined on May 20 and was placed on the DL on June 10 after attempting to return to New York at the beginning of the month. Hill said the lesson learned from both Koskie and Church is to take his time in coming back -- that a concussion isn't something to take lightly.

"I'd love to say I could go out there and play all nine and be fine, but," Hill paused, looked down and laughed. "There's no one that wants to get back sooner than me. I can't stand this."

The day Hill was knocked to the turf by Eckstein, the second baseman said he didn't believe any time off would be necessary. At that time, the word from the doctors was that the injury was merely being labeled a "mild concussion" simply to apply a term to the ailment.

"That was the thing," Hill said. "That day they didn't even label it a concussion, really. They called it that just to have a medical term. Then, after everything came back from the emergency room and the symptoms got worse, they're like, 'Oh, it's probably a Grade 2.'"

A Grade 2 concussion typically requires at least a week off before a player can consider returning. It's taken a little longer for Hill, who hasn't been able to shake feeling worn out for the past 15 days, making a timetable for a return difficult to assess.

"A lot of days you wake up early in the morning," Hill said, "and you have that weird fogginess and it just doesn't go away. That's what stinks. You think maybe after a cup of coffee and you get up and get going, get the blood flowing a little bit, everything will be fine.

"It just stays, man."