The big injury the Reds simply cannot afford to happen has happened. Ken Griffey Jr. suffered a partial tear of the patella tendon of his right knee Sunday. If the injury can be treated without surgery, Griffey will miss three to six weeks. If he needs surgery, he's out for the season.

Ken Griffey Jr. writhes in pain on the third-base line after slipping during a rundown. (Michael E. Keating photos) | ZOOM |

        “There's some controversy on this type of injury as far as whether to treat it with surgery or not,” Reds medical director Dr. Tim Kremchek. “Some (doctors) treat them non-operatively. We'll try that. We could always operate later.”

        The initial diagnosis said Griffey suffered a partial dislocation of the kneecap and strained tendon.

        An MRI at Good Samaritan Hospital revealed the tear.

        Kremchek will discuss the injury with other doctors, including Dr. James Andrews, the noted sports surgeon.

        Griffey was placed in an immobilization brace and began rehab immediately.

        “This is a serious injury,” Kremchek said.

Griffey grabs his knee after being tagged by Expos 3B Chris Truby. | ZOOM |

        Griffey was on third when Aaron Boone hit a groundball to third baseman Chris Truby.

        Griffey broke on contact. Truby threw home, trapping Griffey in a rundown.

        The injury occurred when he slipped on the grass near the base path just before Truby tagged him out.

        “He heard a pop from the front of his knee,” Kremchek said. “It twisted when he planted it.”

        Griffey was in obvious pain. He immediately grabbed the knee, but he was able to walk off on his own.

        Griffey was only on third base because Truby had dropped a throw for an error on a Sean Casey ground ball. Had Truby held the ball, Griffey would have been out and trotting to the dugout.

        Griffey missed three games this spring with patella tendinitis. The knee has continued to bother him.

Griffey throws his helmet as he walks off the field. | ZOOM |

        “Junior has played with pain,” Kremchek said. “This is going to take work to overcome. He's going to have to keep after it most of his career.”

        Kremchek said Griffey was down. But he supported the decision to try to rehab.

        “He wants to come back and play the bulk of the season,” Kremchek said.

        Griffey was placed on the 15-day disabled list. The Reds probably will move Juan Encarnacion to center field.

        Ruben Mateo will be called up from Triple-A Louisville today. He was hitting .364 at Louisville entering Sunday.

        Griffey's injury came on his best day of the season at the plate. He homered in the third inning for his first of the season. He doubled in the seventh just before the injury.

        The Reds held their breath while Griffey was on the ground.

        “That's the last thing we need,” first baseman Sean Casey said. “When it happened, I was thinking, "we don't need this cycle to start again.' But, hopefully, it's not too serious.”

        The team was on the plane to Pittsburgh by the time the announcement of the seriousness of the injury came.

        Kremchek said the medical people would continue to evaluate.

        “We're going to give him a chance to rehab it,” Kremchek said. “We'll re-MRI it. There's still an outside chance he'll need as operation. It's kind of a gray zone.”

        Griffey would miss 17 games if he's out three weeks and 36 games if his recovery took six weeks.

        Griffey has been plagued by injury since coming to the Reds. He played in 111 games last season and 145 in 2000.

        Griffey missed only eight games his final three seasons in Seattle.

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