Mark Ellis Leg Injury: Dodgers Player Needed Surgery, Could Have Lost Leg

It was immediately apparent that Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Mark Ellis was shaken up by a hard slide by St. Louis Cardinals second baseman on Friday night. It wasn't clear until the next day just how seriously he may have been injured.

Ellis underwent emergency surgery on Saturday on his left leg on and is expected to be out for at least six weeks. But it could have been much worse.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Dr. Neal ElAttrache told Dodgers manager Don Mattingly on Sunday that Ellis could have lost his leg if the surgery had been done six or seven hours later.

The 34-year-old underwent a fasciotomy, in which surgeons drained blood and fluid from the leg that was applying severe pressure to the muscle. ElAttrache said that the muscle might have died if they didn't perform until several hours later.              Full Read