ST. LOUIS – The news was so good he couldn't wait.
Just hours after he awoke from surgery to fix meniscus and cartilage tears in his right knee Friday morning in Houston, Cardinals first baseman Lance Berkman phoned manager Mike Matheny with the update.
Despite a strong feeling that he would be out for the season, doctors found no problems with ACL and estimated a return to the club in eight to ten weeks.
"The conversation was, 'I'm going to be back,'" Matheny said. "It was great to hear his voice and hear that excitement. All he's thinking about now is enjoying a little time with his family to heal and he's thinking about counting down the days until he's back."
The 36-year-old Berkman voiced continued pessimism about the stability of his right knee in recent days and said he would be surprised if nothing needed to be done to his ACL.
Doctors went into Berkman's knee to repair the meniscus and cartilage and planned to examine the ACL at the same time to make a determination as to whether it had been stretched enough and required fixing.
Had that been the case like Berkman predicted, he would have been out for the rest of the season and he may have decided to retire. Berkman instead will remain in Houston to begin his rehab before returning to St. Louis in the near future.
"They felt it was intact, it was strong and it was in good condition," said general manager John Mozeliak. "Obviously if they felt there was some need to do something they would have but they went in and they felt it was stable and in good condition.
"It's favorable news for us but in fairness to everything, we should be patient and see how things unfold over the next couple weeks, but we are optimistic that he will play again for us this season and we're hopeful its sooner rather than later."
The six-time All-Star has a career .296 average, 1,836 hits, 359 home runs, 1,197 RBI and 1,115 runs scored in 14 big league seasons. He's played just 13 games this season after already missing three weeks with a calf injury. He's hitting .333 with one home run and four RBI.
If all goes well, Berkman could return around August 1.
"I think he was (surprised)," Matheny said. "He thought it was probably worse but the doctors were extremely optimistic with what they saw.
"Great news. As good of news as we could have got."
