The Cardinals’ Lance Berkman left Saturday’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers with a knee injury; after the game he couldn’t even put weight on the leg in the clubhouse.

This injury could be more serious than originally feared, and fears were pretty bad originally. Joe Strauss:

Berkman advanced the possibility of having merely torn his meniscus Saturday night. Sunday he still exhibited acute stiffness around the knee. “I really can’t do anything,” he lamented.

Sources familiar with Saturday’s preliminary examination by two Dodgers team doctors said Sunday that an ACL tear is suspected.

Berkman, placed on the disabled list Sunday morning, recognized that his next game may be a long time off.

ACL tears seem almost epidemic in baseball this season, not to mention the NBA’s Derrick Rose. If this turns out to be true, it could mean the end of Berkman’s career:

“You think about it when you have a potentially major surgery at this stage of your career,” he said. “… I don’t think it’s one of those deals where you sit out a week and see where you are. I think it’s much more serious than that.”

MRI results with a definitive diagnosis are expected later Monday.

For more on the Cardinals, please visit Viva El Birdos and SB Nation St. Louis.