Berkman's surgery rescheduled for Friday

ST. LOUIS -- Due to a conflict with the schedule of his surgeon, Lance Berkman will undergo right knee surgery on Friday, a day later than initially planned.

Berkman will have the procedure done near his home in Houston. In addition to repairing the torn meniscus in Berkman's right knee, the surgeon will determine if the first baseman's anterior cruciate ligament has also been compromised or torn. If surgery is needed on the ACL, Berkman will not return in 2012.

Though a magnetic resonance imaging exam did not detect any ACL damage, Berkman has said that he expects to find the ligament compromised based on the instability he had been feeling.

Berkman has been away from the team since Tuesday.

"I've been preaching all year to control the things we can control, and we certainly can't control what they're going to find when they go in there and start doing some exploration," manager Mike Matheny said. "But obviously I've been thinking about him, praying for him. I want the best to happen for him, as much for us."