PHOENIX — All-Star third baseman Matt Williams had surgery Saturday to have a metal plate placed in his broken right foot.
Doctors say they found more damage during the operation and that Williams will be out for eight to 10 weeks, two to four weeks longer than originally estimated.
Williams broke the second metatarsal when he fouled a pitch off the foot Wednesday in an exhibition game against Seattle in Tucson. Initially, no surgery was planned, but Williams decided to have the plate inserted so he could put weight on the foot sooner to keep up his conditioning.
When doctors took a new X-ray, they found that the bone had separated slightly and that the plate was needed to keep it from being further displaced.
"I don't know the terms and everything, but they were glad they went in there," manager Buck Showalter said.
Williams and Showalter had cautioned that the six-week timetable was not firm.
The surgery was performed by foot specialist Dr. Peter Mitchell and team physician Dr. David Zeman.
Williams broke the same bone in 1995 and had two pins inserted during surgery then to keep the bone together. He said he tried to come back too soon, after seven weeks, and re-broke the bone. He ended up missing 68 games.