Cards OF Duncan to undergo neck surgery

Aug 2, 2008 - 9:12 PM ST. LOUIS (Ticker) -- St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Chris Duncan will undergo neck surgery Monday, a major procedure which could be career-threatening.

Duncan, who went on the the disabled list July 22, is batting .248 with six homers and 27 RBI this season. He also was optioned to the minors on May 31 for a brief time.

The current condition involves the disk between Duncan's C-5 and C-6 vertebrae, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. A similar problem forced former Cardinal outfielder Larry Walker into retirement after the 2005 season.

Duncan has received a series of injections, which have not helped his condition as he continues to have numbness in his left hand and weakness in his left arm.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch also reported the remedy for Duncan is believed to be a first-of-a-kind procedure on a professional athlete in which a prosthetic disk made of a combination of metal and steel replaces the herniated one.

Duncan, the son of Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan, hit 22 homers in 2006, and had 21 last year before being sidelined by a sports hernia that required surgery in September.

"He's been in excruciating pain for the last 10 days," Dave Duncan told the Post-Dispatch.