Martinez has knee surgery, will need 2nd operation

DETROIT (AP)—Victor Martinez had knee surgery and will need a second operation, another indication he is likely to miss the entire 2012 season.

The Detroit Tigers star had microfracture surgery Friday to repair the medial and lateral meniscus in his left knee.

“I don’t want to say it was a surprise,” team president and general manager Dave Dombrowski said. “We knew it was a possibility.”

Martinez is projected to have anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction surgery on the same knee in six-to-eight weeks, the procedure that was previously expected.

The team announced Monday that he was expected to be out for the year.

When the Tigers revealed two weeks ago that Martinez tore his left ACL during offseason conditioning, they said the designated hitter would “most likely be lost,” for the 2012 season.

The first of two operations was done last week by Dr. Richard Steadman in Vail, Colo.

“We didn’t know the full extent of the damage for sure until Dr. Steadman got in there,” Dombrowski said. “He’s the resident expert in the world on knees, and he feels it is more important to correct cartilage before the ACL to get the best results.”-http://sports.yahoo.com