FORT MYERS, Fla. – Justin Morneau isn’t going to sugarcoat his concerns over recurring concussions and how they could affect his playing career.

All the former AL MVP can do to quell the nerves of Minnesota Twins fans is go about his daily workouts like the old Justin Morneau, and he’s doing a pretty good job of that so far in spring training.

A week after reporting to camp and saying that he has given thought to what another concussion would mean for his baseball life, Morneau has gone through every workout, every batting practice and every fielding drill with his Twins teammates.

Morneau hit a home run off of Francisco Liriano in live batting practice on Tuesday and said Wednesday that he is hoping to play in the Twins’ spring training opener against Tampa Bay this weekend.

“You take positive steps every day,” Morneau said. “Obviously it’s always going to be there. You never know what’s going to happen tomorrow or a week from now or a month from now, so it’s the old cliche, take it one day at a time. That’s really what I’m doing.

“As I build confidence every day and everything’s going good, hopefully that stuff will be in the past by the time the season starts,” he added.

Morneau missed 174 games over the previous two seasons with multiple concussions and injuries to his neck, left wrist, right knee and left foot. He was primarily concerned about the head injuries, and said last week, “There comes a point where you can only torture yourself for so long.”

That got Twins fans worried, but Morneau said he was just answering a question honestly and insists he’s feeling good and expecting to return to the form that made him a franchise cornerstone at first base.

“You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that if the stuff continues, I probably wouldn’t be able to play again,” Morneau said Wednesday. “It wasn’t anything other than stating the obvious.

“I also said that I don’t expect that to happen. I don’t anticipate that to happen. That’s something that’s in the back, maybe five percent of my mind.”

The Twins desperately need him back in the middle of the lineup. He had 18 homers and 56 RBI, and was batting .345 when he first went down with a concussion in July 2010. He only played 69 games last season, hitting four homers while the Twins sunk to the bottom of the division.

When Morneau showed up to camp this year, he said he wasn’t sure how the increased intensity of the workouts would affect him. So far they haven’t,” he said.

“There’s a lot of optimism in how he’s going about his business,” General Manager Terry Ryan said.

The difference between this spring training and last for Morneau is noticeable. The uncertainty about working out is gone and he knows the protocol for returning from a concussion.

“I think I kind of have a better idea of how I feel and what I need to do every day to try to prepare,” he said.