After knee surgery, St. Louis Cardinals' Lance Berkman hopes to return – MLB News
St. Louis Cardinals' first baseman Lance Berkman said on Wednesday, September 19, that he is not ruling out the possibility of returning by the end of the regular season. The first baseman had undergone knee surgery last week which was later described as season ending.
It was the surgery to repair a torn meniscus and to remove additional cartilage. The fact that it takes at least four to six weeks to recover from surgery is something that Berkman is endeavouring to overcome and make it earlier to the ballpark. This is something that the team is also hoping.
His assertion that he does not want to rule out the possibility of returning shows the determination and enthusiasm of the player to be there just when the Wild Card race is toughening as the playoffs get near.
"I'm not ruling out a return by the end of the regular season with the way it feels. I'm not ruling it in either," Berkman said. "I'm hopeful that if I can get the swelling calmed down from the surgery. All of these are big ifs, but I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility. It felt good enough [Tuesday] just walking around on it that I thought it might be a possibility."
It was on July 24 when he got hit on his knee by the Los Angeles Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw. Since then Berkman has not been able to give the kind of performance he was exhibiting prior to that. However, he feels it is getting better now.
"It dissolved from there and never really felt right after that," Berkman said. "But now it feels right again. It's still sore from the surgery. I can still tell I have some swelling.”
Given the importance this player retains in the line-up for his powerful play and wonderful defence, the Cardinals are optimistic the player returns. But when he returns, they hope that he has regained his fitness and form to serve the Cardinals – at a time when the team is defending the World Series title which they had won after beating the Texas Rangers last year.
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