St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Jhonny Peralta could miss up to three months for the Major League Baseball squad after suffering a left thumb injury, general manager John Mozeliak said on Monday.

The 33-year-old Dominican suffered a torn ligament on Saturday, a preliminary MRI exam showed, and Peralta felt discomfort in his glove hand after fielding a ground ball in a pre-season game but "didn't think it was to this level", Mozeliak said.

Peralta hit .275 with 17 homeruns and 71 runs batted in last season. He has missed only 12 games in the past two seasons but the opening games of the 2016 campaign are less than a month away.

"We've got to determine what this next step looks like," Mozeliak said.

Doctors in St. Louis will take a look before a final decision is made.

"Unfortunately, once this is compromised, the lack of strength will ultimately be putting you in a very vulnerable position," Mozeliak said.

Peralta is entering the third year of a four-year contract. Over the past two seasons with the Cardinals, he has batted .269 with 38 homers and 146 runs batted in.
Source: AFP