Gossage Undergoes Surgery on Knee

Padre reliever Goose Gossage, his right knee still swelled and painful, underwent arthroscopic surgery Thursday morning and will be sidelined for a minimum of three weeks.

But he could be out much longer. The injury was diagnosed as a tear of the articulating cartilage in the knee, and trainer Dick Dent could not give a specific timetable, saying only: “He’ll do nothing but rehab for three weeks. And in three weeks, the injury will be re-evaluated.”

Padre Manger Dick Williams said Gossage will be placed on the disabled list, most likely by today. He said General Manager Jack McKeon would likely bring up a player from the minor leagues to replace him, although he said a trade wasn’t impossible.

McKeon, though, said Thursday night, “I haven’t talked to Dick. I don’t know what we’ll do . . . but without Goose, well, you’re not going to bring up anyone of his caliber. What’s the difference if you go to (Ed) Wojna or (Mark) Thurmond? Is a kid from Triple-A going to make a difference?”

Gossage (2-2, 1.77 earned-run averages, 21 saves) injured himself in early June when he slipped off the mound at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium. He played on because there was little or no swelling, although Dr. Cliff Colwell did ask that he let him know if swelling did appear. Tuesday night, after Gossage threw two scoreless innings of relief, it did swell. Gossage flew home Wednesday, was examined Thursday morning at Scripps Clinic, and Colwell decided to proceed with arthroscopic surgery.

Through the surgery, it was learned that cartilage had pulled away from the femur, perhaps because of the strain Gossage puts on his body when he pitches. Colwell, who was unavailable for comment Thursday, removed a 12-millimeter by 6-millimeter piece of bone from Gossage’s knee.

Could the Padres have known about this sooner?

“If they had scoped it two weeks ago, they wouldn’t have seen it,” Dent said. “That time he slipped might have loosened it up. But apparently, pitching two nights ago pulled it apart.”

And this leaves the Padres in an extraordinarily difficult bullpen situation. Without Gossage, Williams either must turn to Craig Lefferts (6-4, 3.42 ERA, 1 save), Tim Stoddard (1-6, 3.77 ERA, 1 save) or to Roy Lee Jackson (0-1, 4.32 ERA, 1 save).

Catcher Terry Kennedy said, “He’s the single most important player on the club.”

Which puts it all in perspective.