St. Louis, MO (Sports Network) - St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Lance
Berkman is expected to be sidelined for 8-to-10 weeks after undergoing surgery
Friday to have meniscus and cartilage tears in his right knee repaired.
It could have been worse, as there were fears that the procedure could have
revealed damage to the anterior cruciate ligament, an injury which would
likely have kept Berkman out for the remainder of the season.
Instead, the arthroscopy performed in Houston found only a partial tear in the
medial meniscus, which was removed, and also a small femoral condylar
cartilage tear, which was debrided.
Berkman will begin his rehabilitation in Houston and is expected to return to
St. Louis for the later stages of his recovery.
The 14-year veteran suffered the injury last Saturday in Los Angeles while
stretching to make a catch at first base on a routine ground ball hit to
shortstop Rafael Furcal.
Berkman, who is in the last year of his contract, is hitting .333 this season
with one home run and four runs batted in, but has only 42 at-bats in just 13
games. He is on the disabled list for the second time this season, after
missing time due to a calf injury suffered in April.
The Sports Network