Dawson to Be Sidelined for Month With Knee Surgery

Chicago Cubs slugger Andre Dawson will have arthroscopic surgery on his right knee Thursday and will be off the field for at least a month, the team said today.

Dawson, who shared National League Player of the Week honors with San Francisco’s Kevin Mitchell after going 11-for-14, has torn cartilage on the inside of his knee.

The right fielder also may have damaged cartilage on the outside of the knee.

Team physician Dr. Michael Schafer examined Dawson on Monday and diagnosed the condition. Schafer will perform the operation at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

Dawson has hit well, even though he had fluid drained from his knee on April 18 and missed two days. He has had two previous operations on each knee.

A rough slide into second base Saturday night at Los Angeles aggravated the injury, and he sat out Sunday’s game against the Dodgers.

“That one really hurt,” Dawson said. “I wondered how I was going to get up.

“Right now, it’s tough breaking for the ball and making cuts and stops,” he said.

The Cubs are in first place in the NL East with a 17-13 record, a half game ahead of the New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals.

But without Dawson, who is hitting .305 with five home runs and 19 RBIs, the Cubs will be missing their best power hitter.