Josh Hamilton Injury: Updates on Angels Star's Knee and Return

Updates from Saturday, July 26

MLB Lineups reports Josh Hamilton is not in the Angels lineup:

James Schmehl of MLive.com provides more details:

Original Text

Los Angeles Angels outfielder Josh Hamilton is once again dealing with an injury that could keep him out of the lineup.

The 33-year-old veteran was removed from his team's game Friday against the Detroit Tigers in the fourth inning and replaced by Efren Navarro. The club later announced that this was the result of a knee injury:

Hamilton missed about a month-and-a-half earlier in the year due to a torn ligament in his thumb. He had been able to remain in the lineup until this point, but he struggled to a .291 batting average and just five home runs.

Despite the lack of power, Hamilton has remained the cleanup hitter for the Angels, where he has contributed with his .322 batting average with runners in scoring position. His solid production has helped the team remain one of the best in the major leagues. Only the AL West rival Oakland Athletics have a better record at this point of the year.

If Hamilton is forced to miss a significant amount of time, the squad could end up struggling to replace him in the lineup. Outfielder Grant Green was recently placed on the disabled list, which leaves Navarro as the only other option for the Angels.

Based on the severity of the injury, it is possible Los Angeles will start looking for outfielders before the trade deadline.

Follow Rob Goldberg on Twitter for the latest breaking news and analysis.