Ryan Howard Injury Update: Knee Requires Surgery, Out 6-8 Weeks

In news that will surprise only embryos and creepy crawly creatures living under rocks (or perhaps these type of creepy crawlers), Ryan Howard's injury knee injury is not the type that will heal with just a few days off. Howard will need surgery on his left knee to repair a torn meniscus. The date of the surgery is unknown, but he'll be out 6-8 weeks from whenever it happens. Howard's knee has been bothering him since the start of May. He received a cortisone shot on May 19, which with the benefit of hindsight we can say only postponed the inevitable. Though I'll say that having him play on his sore knee for two months certainly made it inevitable. Matt Gelb's initial piece on Howard's injury says that the tear occurred in the past two months while he was playing on the knee, which is pretty alarming.

Howard's left leg hasn't been the picture of health for some time now. He ruptured the Achilles in his left foot during the last strike of the last out of the 2011 NLDS, which required surgery (and considerable recovery time for both Howard and the fans). That makes this the second left leg related surgery in less than two years for Howard.

Get well soon, big guy.