Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Mark Ellis had to have urgent leg surgery on Saturday, stemming from an injury he suffered Friday night while getting slid into by Tyler Greene of the St. Louis Cardinals. Ellis, who was placed on the disabled list on Saturday, is expected to miss six weeks.

The procedure, called a fasciotomy, is designed to relieve pressure which in Ellis's case was his lower left leg. Ellis was hit in the side of the leg on Friday, and pressure built up in his leg overnight. He was sent to the hospital on Saturday for the procedure.

"You have several compartments in the lower leg," Dodgers trainer Sue Falsone explained after the game on Saturday. "When you have trauma to that area, blood trauma, fluids, tissue, and everything swells up. You have to open up that fascia to release that pressure."

Ellis will remain hospitalized until at least Tuesday. For now, the Dodgers are saying he will be out at least six weeks, though it could be even longer depending on other issues.

"As we go, we're going to do more exams on his knee," Falsone said. "What we had to do today was urgent so we're just focused on the lower leg right now."

Ellis is one of four Dodgers starters on the disabled list, along with Matt Kemp, Juan Uribe, and Juan Rivera.

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