Chase Utley cleared the air regarding his troublesome knees on Sunday, saying that he isn't retiring or undergoing surgery. He also plans to play this season even though he won't be ready for Philadelphia's season opener next month. "I will take this process fairly slow, because I think it's important to get everything around my knees working correctly," Utley said. "And I think it's going to take a little bit of time. I'm disappointed. I'm upset. I'm not happy that I'm in this situation right now, but I'm not going to let that deter me and get me down." Utley tried to dispel speculation about his condition, which had been fueled by his silence and contradictory reports about his progress. "I don't have patellar tendinitis," Utley said. "It's called chondromalacia, which is a roughening of the cartilage underneath the patellar. And it's not that bad. It's not bad enough to have microfracture surgery. It's not bad enough to end my career. It's an issue I'm going to have to deal with. There's a lot of wear and tear in this game, and I just have to get things around my knee to move better to take a little pressure off my knee."