CHICAGO -- Brewers first baseman Eric Thames underwent surgery on Friday to repair the torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb and will be sidelined 6 to 8 weeks, the team said.
That timetable was right in line with expectations, Brewers manager Craig Counsell said Saturday morning. So was the post-surgery social media post, Counsell joked.
"Step 1: Done!" Thames wrote on Instagram, with a photo of his hand in a heavy cast.
Thames had the procedure in Phoenix after a consultation with hand specialist Dr. Don Sheridan, who performed the surgery. The timetable is consistent with most other players who have torn that ligament, including Michael Trout, who missed about six weeks last season, and Bryce Harper, who was sidelined two months in 2014.
The Brewers' leader with seven home runs, Thames was injured diving for a ground ball in the eighth inning of a win over the Royals on Tuesday in Kansas City. Jesus Aguilar and Ryan Braun have started at first base in Thames' absence, with Aguilar delivering one of the Brewers' two sacrifice flies in Friday's 3-2 loss to the Cubs.

"Now it's rehab time for Eric," Brewers GM David Stearns said. "That's a challenging time for a player, but I know he's going to go at it full-force. We're in that 6-8 week timeframe that you guys have talked about before, and that's pretty standard for these types of injuries. I know Eric is going to push to get back as soon as he possibly can, but we'll see how the rehab goes. The key for when Eric comes back is for him to be completely healthy."
Thames will remain in Phoenix for the next 10 days or so before the Brewers make a decision about where to continue his rehab.
"I don't think any of these guys like to sit around. The lack of activity can be frustrating," Counsell said. "Jimmy [Nelson] is going through it right now. I think Eric's time is short enough. He's going to have 2-3 weeks of inactivity, but then he'll be able to start doing enough where this will go by pretty fast."