Reds' Jay Bruce has knee surgery, could miss a month - WSFA.com Montgomery Alabama news.

Reds outfielder Jay Bruce could has already started his rehab program after surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee on Monday.

"I talked to him yesterday. I had him in my office last night and we did (the surgery) today," said Reds medical director Dr. Timothy Kremchek.  "Obviously, (it's) get it done as soon as we possibly can. Why wait? You know it's got to be done. He can't perform the way he needs to. Why not get it done and get him on the road to recovery?" 

Kremchek called the arthroscopic surgery "routine" and said it went well. The estimated time Bruce will miss is around a month, although Kremchek said it could be a little less or a little more depending on the individual. 

Bruce had the surgery Monday morning and began rehab the same day with range of motion exercises and started a quadriceps and hamstring strengthening program.

"We started (rehab) today. We'll continue it tomorrow. The key is to get the swelling down, get his motion and keep his muscles strong, so when everything heals, he's able to do what he wants as fast as he possibly can," Kremchek said. "We don't want to be foolish about it but these young, healthy guys can get back in a few weeks."

Bruce was a late scratch before Sunday's game with what the team announced as left knee soreness. Bruce did pinch hit in the late innings.

Bruce has started all but two of the Reds games this year and is batting .218.

The injury is the most significant for Bruce in several years. He had played in at least 148 of the Reds 162 games every season since 2010.

Bruce is expected to placed on the disabled list Tuesday and replaced by Roger Bernadina, who cleared waivers on Monday.

The Reds start a two-game series at Boston on Tuesday.

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