Encouraging News on Karros

Arthroscopic surgery performed Tuesday in Los Angeles on the injured left knee of Dodger first baseman Eric Karros revealed cartilage damage that wasn’t as bad as feared, encouraging team officials here.

Orthopedist Ralph Gambardella removed cartilage fragments during the one-hour procedure at Centinela Hospital Medical Center. It was believed that Karros, who had experienced pain and swelling in the knee during much of spring training, might have had extensive cartilage damage that could have caused him to sit out the entire season.

Instead, he is expected to be sidelined for at least six weeks while he undergoes rehabilitation.

“We’re pleased to the extent we were told that his season could have been jeopardized,” said Fred Claire, executive vice president.

“We certainly don’t want to lose Eric for any length of time, but the shortest scenario is obviously the best, as long as the problem is identified and the best course of action is taken. So, yes, this is encouraging.”

According to team spokesman Derrick Hall, the injury probably happened when Karros’ knee hit the ground during a fielding drill Feb. 24, before an intrasquad game.

“We found cartilage damage and a lot of little cartilage loose bodies floating around, which was most likely responsible for his swelling,” Gambardella said. “It wasn’t a tear, it was damage to the surface of the knee, and it most likely was related to the injury that he had when he landed directly on his knee.

“We removed the tiny little pieces and cleaned up all the irregularities, and now we’re going to undertake an aggressive rehabilitation program. The best-case scenario is that he never would have had to fly back to Los Angeles in the first place, but we think this should stop the swelling.”

Karros will begin working with a physical therapist today. The first step is to reduce the swelling and irritation from the surgery by applying ice and stimulus to the knee.

Depending on his progress, Karros will exercise on stationary bikes and stair-climbing equipment. In the final stage, he will run on treadmills.

And Karros, who had not previously been on the disabled list in his six-year career, will simultaneously follow a separate program to strengthen his thigh muscles and hamstrings.

“This will go from one step to another,” Gambardella said. “As long as things are going smoothly, he will be allowed to take the next step to eventually return.”

The Dodgers open the season on the road Tuesday against the St. Louis Cardinals. In Karros’ absence, rookie Paul Konerko will play first base and probably hit sixth in the batting order.

“You have to have people prepared to step in, and we feel that Konerko is ready,” Claire said. “He has showed us a lot this spring, and we’re comfortable with him in this role. Our thoughts are with Eric, but the team must move on and maintain its focus on the field.”

Although Gambardella established a time frame for Karros to return, he said that could change.

“I’m not able to make a definite assessment at this time, in terms of what his response will be,” he said. “But given what we did, and what we found, we would think that in that time frame he should be able to move forward, and get back to some playing activity. We should at least have a good picture of how well things are progressing at that point [six weeks].”

The Dodgers realize that Karros could be sidelined longer than expected.

“It’s unknown right now,” Claire said. “It’s going to depend on where he is with his rehabilitation in four to six weeks. These things are always hard to determine. Eric is certainly in very capable hands, so we just have to leave this up to the doctors, the trainers and Eric.”