Former MVP Mike Trout needs surgery on torn meniscus. The Angels hope he can return this season

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Los Angeles Angels star Mike Trout will have surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee, sidelining the three-time AL MVP indefinitely.

The Angels believe Trout will be able to return this season, general manager Perry Minasian said while announcing the injury Tuesday.

Trout is batting .220 with a major league-leading 10 homers, 14 RBIs and six stolen bases this year, but he will be sidelined by a major injury for the fourth consecutive season.

Trout had an MRI after playing in the Angels’ 6-5 victory over Philadelphia on Monday. The outfielder fought back tears while describing the pain that gradually crept up on him after the game.

“It’s crazy, because I look back and I don’t even know when I did it,” Trout said.

Trout’s latest injury is another major blow to the Angels, who are off to an 11-18 start in their first season since Shohei Ohtani’s free-agent departure. Los Angeles also has lost $245 million third baseman Anthony Rendon indefinitely to a torn hamstring.

The 32-year-old Trout won his three MVP awards during a dominant decade of play in the 2010s, but the formerly durable outfielder has been bedeviled by injuries since 2021.

He missed all but 36 games of the 2021 season with a strained calf, and he missed several weeks of the 2022 season with a back injury. Trout then broke a bone in his hand last season, missing all but one game after July 3.

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