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FORT MYERS, Fla. – Twins catcher Joe Mauer downplayed the lubricating shots that he’s receiving in his surgically repaired left knee, saying Wednesday morning that they are “not really that big of a deal.”

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire revealed Tuesday that Mauer had received a shot of medication to help lubricate his left knee joint and general manager Bill Smith confirmed the news that Mauer had gotten a shot after Tuesday’s workout.

“I was surprised that it was out there,” Mauer said as he spoke with reporters before Wednesday’s first full squad workout. “Usually a lot of these things happen and you never know about it. But nothing set me back or anything like that. It was part of the plan, and [I’m] just working my way back.”

Tuesday’s shot was the first of a series of around 3 or 4 shots that he will receive in his left knee, Mauer said. The shots will occur once a week and Mauer stressed that they were a planned part of his treatment following minor surgery that he had on his knee in mid-December.

“It’s not that I need it,” Mauer said of the shots. “It’s more of a preventative thing just to make sure I’m good to go for the season. So like I said it’s really not that big of a deal and I kind of wish it wasn’t out there but here we are.”

Mauer will take things easy during Wednesday’s workout  and possibly Thursday as he lets the shot take effect. He has been taking part in the daily workouts since pitchers and catchers reported last Thursday, although Mauer has yet to catch a bullpen session this spring. Gardenhire reiterated Tuesday that the Twins plan to keep Mauer’s workload light throughout the spring to help ensure that he’s healthy for the regular season.

Mauer said the decision to have the shots was made shortly after he had the surgery on his left knee. The knee is the same one that Mauer had surgery on in 2004, his rookie season, when he had a torn medial meniscus repaired.

`We talked about it a little bit as a possibility,” Mauer said of the shots. “It’s pretty common. A lot of athletes have them. I guess being a catcher and all that stuff, it might sound a lot worse than what it is.’