Williamson weeks away

PITTSBURGH — Mac Williamson, whose thunderous bat gave the Giants such a lift for five games, will remain on concussion protocol for seven to 10 more days while he performs vestibular and other related exercises to alleviate his symptoms, manager Bruce Bochy said Friday.

Add the time Williamson will need to spend in the minors in rehab games, and the concussion that occurred when he slammed his head into a wall at AT&T Park chasing a Bryce Harper foul ball will have cost him at least a month.

“The timing is terrible for him, to be honest,” Bochy said, “the way he was as far as swinging the bat and his timing, how good he was doing.

That’s when you want to be out there playing. Once he’s over it, he’ll go down for rehab and get back on track.”

The timing is terrible for the Giants, too. Williamson had given the Giants a much-needed injection of youth and power. He hit three long homers in 19 at-bats, including one in the April 24 game just after he got hurt.

The Giants have no plans to call up any of their Triple-A outfielders (Steven Duggar, Austin Slater, Chris Shaw), because a fifth outfielder would come at the expense of their 13th pitcher, whom they cannot afford to lose.

Williamson’s prognosis follows examinations by top concussion doctors in Pittsburgh. Although not cleared to play, he can do physical activity, and he shagged flies in batting practice.

Crick and Cutch: Reliever Kyle Crick, one of two players the Giants sent to the Pirates for Andrew McCutchen, did not make the team out of spring training but has struck out 13 in 91⁄3 innings since his April 13 call-up. He retired McCutchen during a shutout inning Friday.

Briefly: Joe Panik had the stitches removed from his left thumb Thursday, 11 days after surgery to repair a torn ligament. Now he can begin range-of-motion exercises . ... Triple-A Sacramento officially restarted Hunter Pence’s rehab assignment after it was paused to rest his thumb, but he did not start Friday night.