The Milwaukee Brewers have announced that right fielder Corey Hart requires arthroscopic knee surgery to repair torn cartilage. The procedure will cause Hart to be sidelined for three to four weeks, and the Brewers have said they are expecting their slugger to start the regular season on the disabled list.
Hart was initially scratched from the starting lineup of the Brewers spring training opener. At that point Milwaukee only said they would be without their right fielder for a few days.
Unfortunately for Hart and the Brewers, a recent MRI revealed torn cartilage in the 29-year-old’s right knee. Hart will undergo surgery later this week which will likely result in him missing the rest of Milwaukee’s spring training.
The injury will also impact Hart’s regular season, making it the second year in a row that the Brewers will be without their slugger on Opening Day. Manager Ron Roenicke said that he intends to take things slow with Hart this season, not rushing him back into action like last year. Hart is expected to remain in extended spring training before rejoining the Brewers sometime during the first month of the season.
Though he got off to a slow start in 2011 due to injury, Hart recovered to post impressive numbers for the Brewers. Over his 551 plate appearances, Hart hit at a clip of .285/.356/.510 with 26 home runs, 25 doubles and 63 RBI’s.
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