You kind of figured it wasn't going to take long for Austin Jackson to make his return to the Tigers after he could do everything — swing the bat, run — without pain.

After two nights of a rehab stint at Triple-A Toledo, he's ready to return from the disabled list, he says.

He hasn't appeared in a game for the Tigers since leaving in the fifth inning of the Tigers' May 16 loss to the Twins, after straining an abdominal muscle on a swing. He missed 21 games.

"It felt like forever. It's tough just sitting back, watching. But at the same time, you need that rest to let it heal. ... This time I let it rest a little bit and it feels a lot better," Jackson told FOX Sports Detroit's Dana Wakiji. "I'm ready to rejoin them and try to help them out a little bit."

Jackson went 1-for-7 in his two-game rehab stint, getting just one single in Friday's game, but it may have been the swings-and-misses that were just as key to finding out how he truly feels, since that's how he was injured in the first place.

Jackson will rejoin the Tigers in Cincinnati on Saturday, likely replacing reliever Jose Ortega, the extra arm the Tigers have been carrying since Alex Avila went on the disabled list.