MILWAUKEE (AP) -Brewers pitcher Yovani Gallardo tore a ligament in his right knee trying to avoid a collision near first base on Thursday, and might need surgery.
“We’re going to put him on the DL and bring Dave Bush back,” general manager Doug Melvin said Friday. “When the swelling goes down, we’ll re-evaluate him, but it appears we’re going to miss him for an extended period of time.”
Gallardo was injured in the fifth inning of Thursday’s game against the Cubs when he rushed toward first base to cover a slow roller by Chicago’s Reed Johnson. As Brewers first baseman Prince Fielder went to apply a tag, Gallardo hurdled Johnson and landed awkwardly on his right leg.
Gallardo was on the ground for a few minutes, but managed to walk it off and keep pitching, completing the inning and another before leaving. His velocity dipped noticeably after the fall.
“The doctor stated that going out there to pitch didn’t do any further damage,” Melvin said. “It was torn at the time, and he was able to battle his way through it.”
Gallardo had an MRI on Friday morning that confirmed he had a torn ligament.
Gallardo joined the team in mid-April after Feb. 19 surgery to repair torn cartilage in his left knee that he injured just before training camp opened.
The 22-year-old right-hander had a solid rookie year after his midseason call-up, going 9-5 with a 3.67 ERA down the stretch last season.
Bush, who was sent to Triple-A Nashville on Sunday, made three starts before Gallardo returned from his left knee surgery, but was ineffective – going 0-3 with a 6.75 ERA.
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