ST. LOUIS • An season-ending exam of catcher Yadier Molina's left thumb confirmed the significant tear he tried to play through and led the doctors' to schedule immediately surgery on the ligament.
Molina will have surgery Thursday afternoon to repair the torn ligament, and he will then be prescribed eight to 12 weeks of recovery, general manager John Mozeliak announced Thursday. The team expects him to be ready, without limitations, for spring training when it begins in February.
Mozeliak said Molina did not make the tear substantially worse by playing.
He added that surgery may have happened three weeks earlier if the Cardinals were not preparing for a postseason run and had already been eliminated.