Frank Thomas out for 8 weeks

The Chicago slugger has a broken bone in his left foot.
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Chicago White Sox designated hitter Frank Thomas is expected to miss eight weeks with a broken bone in his left foot.
Thomas is hitting .271 with 18 homers and 49 RBIs this season. The two-time AL MVP led the league with 64 walks and a .434 on-base percentage entering the weekend.
Thomas was placed on the disabled list last Saturday with inflammation in his ankle, but an MRI taken in Las Vegas this week revealed a stress fracture in his foot, the team said Friday.
"We're going to miss one of the best hitters in the game the last few years, but we have to deal with it," Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen said.
No surgery will be necessary, but Dr. Lowell Weil, Chicago's team podiatrist, recommended immobilizing Thomas' foot. Thomas will undergo additional tests in four weeks, but probably won't return before the final weeks of the regular season.
Absence
The White Sox first noticed Thomas' injury when he was unable to start at first base during an interleague series against the Chicago Cubs earlier this month. He last played on July 6 against Anaheim.
It's the second major injury blow to Chicago's offense this season, coming shortly after Magglio Ordonez returned from a 37-game absence with torn cartilage in his left knee.
Ordonez and several teammates will attempt to replace Thomas' power numbers, and the injury also might spur the White Sox to go after another hitter before the July 31 trade deadline.
Chicago (46-40) is in a tight race in the AL Central, leading the Minnesota Twins (47-42) by a half-game.
Thomas is sixth among active players with 436 career homers. He missed all but 20 games of the 2001 season after tearing his right triceps, but had been mostly healthy for the past 2 1/2 seasons. He had 42 homers and 105 RBIs last season.
Ordonez was Chicago's designated hitter in a 5-1 loss to the Oakland Athletics on Friday night.