Astros' Berkman could miss opening day after knee surgery

Lance Berkman, a five-time Major League Baseball all-star first baseman with the Houston Astros, will undergo left knee surgery on Saturday and could miss the team's season opener.

The National League club announced Friday that Berkman would miss between two and four weeks after Saturday's arthroscopic knee surgery for an injury suffered during a March 1 base-running drill during pre-season training.

Berkman, 34, could miss the April 5 opener at home against San Francisco with a bruised knee that has swollen and caused him to miss five pre-season exhibition games.

Astros general manager Ed Wade said the team does not expect the injury to be a nagging problem for Berkman, who has played his entire 11-season career for the Astros, batting .299 with 313 home runs and 1,041 runs batted in.