Orioles 3B Manny Machado's knee injury less severe than initially feared

Orioles third baseman Manny Machado injured his knee Monday. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Baltimore Orioles third baseman Manny Machado suffered a gruesome-looking knee injury on Monday, but the prognosis is not as bad as initially feared, according to a tweet from Major League Baseball's account.

Machado, who had a breakthrough season in his first full year in the majors, will need six to eight weeks to recover from a torn medial patellar ligament. He did not tear his ACL or MCL.

"The MCL is fine, the ACL is fine, all those major ligaments are fine," Baltimore's head trainer Richie Bancells said, according to a tweet from MASN's Roch Kubatko.

Machado hurt his left leg when he stepped on first base after a seventh-inning single. He dropped to the turf and was carted off the field. (See the video below).

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The 21-year-old hit .283 with 14 home runs and 71 RBI this season. He also had a league-leading 51 doubles.

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