The San Diego Padres' 6-foot-10 right-hander is scheduled to start Tuesday night against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Petco Park.
Young
Young's comeback included a handful of simulated games and two rehab starts with Class A Lake Elsinore, so he doesn't anticipate being any more nervous than normal.
"After the injury I wasn't sure how that would be, if it would take a while to get over that," Young said Monday. "I've faced a lot of live batters since then and I haven't had any issues. It hasn't been a thought. In fact, there have been comebackers that were hit hard that I've fielded, some have gotten past me. Never once did I worry about it. Hopefully there won't be any in my face."
Young threw 8 2/3 innings in two rehab starts, allowing five hits and three runs, all on solo homers. He struck out seven and walked one.
Young was left dazed and bloodied when he was hit by Pujols' liner on May 21 in a loss to the St. Louis Cardinals at Petco Park.
Doctors had to wait for the swelling to go down and for a small skull fracture to heal before they could repair his septum on June 30. That allowed him to breathe through his nose.
"I consider myself fortunate getting out there this soon," he said.
Young said his nose is still numb and that it can't get bumped.
"When I hold my daughter I try not to let her get close to my face," he said. "It's still pretty sore. I had a sinus infection last week. I'm going to be prone to those for a while. There's still healing taking place but I think I'm at a point right now where physically there's very little risk going out and performing out on the mound."
Young is hoping it's a once-in-a-career injury.
"It's such a low-risk injury," he said. "It's pretty rare that it happens. I'm going to keep that in mind when I go out there tomorrow night. My nose isn't completely healed. If it happens again it could be some significant damage there, but I've played a long time without it happening, hopefully I'll go a long time without it happening again."
Young said he has a different perspective since the injury, "as far as appreciation for the game and everything I've missed, how much fun it is to be out there. I'm really excited to be back."
Catcher Michael Barrett, meanwhile, continues to recover from surgery on July 13 to insert four titanium plates in his face. He broke his nose, his right orbital bone and a bone in his forehead when he fouled a ball off his face at Colorado on July 2.
Barrett said doctors peeled his forehead down during the four-hour surgery. He has a scar running across the top of his head where doctors used 32 staples to close him back up.
"I've got pictures. They're gnarly," Barrett said.
"Hey, so now you can become a boxer," first baseman Adrian Gonzalez said after hearing Barrett describe where the titanium plates were placed.
"I'm a little less fragile," the catcher said.
Barrett said he'll go in Friday for cosmetic surgery "because the scar is like uneven pavement. It's just a minor deal."
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