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.