Indians Gold Glove center fielder scheduled to undergo surgery this week in Vail, Col.
NEW YORK, N.Y. -- The Indians announced before today's game that center fielder Grady Sizemore will undergo surgery on his left knee this week. Lonnie Soloff, Indians head athletic trainer, said Sizemore will miss at least six to eight week.
Dr. Richard Steadman will do the surgery in Vail, Colo. A date has not been announced.
"It's a big blow," said manager Manny Acta. "I did not anticipate this coming out of spring training. Even though Grady was struggling, his speed never goes into a slump, he plays great defense and he has a presence on our clubs.
"Our kids are just going to have to step up."
Trevor Crowe has played well in place of Sizemore in center field. Acta said Michael Brantley, currently at Class AAA Columbus, will also get a chance later in the season.
Soloff did not go into detail on Sizemore's surgery. He said the nature of the surgery could change during the operation depending on the "stability of the cartilage" in the knee. Microfracture surgery, used to stimulate growth of cartilage, could be an option. If that is the case, Sizemore would be out for longer than six or eight weeks.
"They have to determine the status of his joint cartilage," said Soloff. "The question isn't how much cartilage is there, it's the stability of the cartilage."
When asked if microfracture surgery was a possibility, Soloff said, "We'll have a specific update after the surgery. We're not ruling out anything. It will be an intra-operative decision."
Sizemore visited doctors in New York and Vail, Col., last week to get opinions on the knee. Soloff said the Indians consulted with doctors "nationally and internationally' to determine the best course of action for Sizemore's knee.
In April, Sizemore initially bruised his left knee sliding into a base. He re-injured it May 16 in Baltimore diving back into first base and was placed on the disabled list.