Salvador Perez is expected to miss 12-14 weeks after undergoing successful surgery this morning to repair a laterally torn meniscus in his left knee, reports Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star.

Perez was slated as the Royals' starting catcher until he suffered the injury during warm-ups on Tuesday. The injury apparently occurred when his cleats caught in the dirt while shifting to catch a pitch.

Originally thought to be a minor injury, Perez was flown back to Kansas City on Wednesday to prep for surgery after an MRI revealed the tear.

The 12-14 week recovery timetable given by Perez's doctors means the catcher won't be able to get back into action until mid-June.

With Manny Pina in the midst of recovering from a knee surgery of his own--for torn cartilage--Brayan Pena is now the only healthy catcher on the Royals roster.

Dutton confirms that the Royals front office is now looking to acquire a catcher to fill the void created by Perez and Pina's absence.