SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. • Cardinals lefty Tyler Lyons required a more extensive knee surgery this week to correct ongoing pain and trouble with the joint.

General manager John Mozeliak confirmed that Lyons had surgery Tuesday in St. Louis, and it could take him another five to six months to recover.

Lyons had healthy cartilage grafted to an area where there was damage in hopes that will fix the injury that kept him sidelined for much of this past season.

Lyons had attempted, at one point, to pitch through the pain.

The extended absence of Lyons further complicates the Cardinals bullpen and roster pinch. Earlier this offseason, the Cardinals lost Zack Duke to elbow surgery and he will miss most if not all of the 2017 season.

Duke and Lyons were the two lefties the Cardinals expected to be in the bullpen with Kevin Siegrist. The Cardinals next options for that role who are currently on the roster are Marco Gonzales and Tim Cooney.

They, too, are coming back from missing a lot of 2016 due to surgeries.

A message from Derrick Goold Pitchers and catchers report one day a year. We cover the rest. Wherever baseball takes us, The Post-Dispatch and STLtoday.com will bring you there with unmatched year-round, 24-hour, and award-winning coverage of the Cardinals and Major League Baseball. Subscribe today: Just $1 a month

Keep up with the latest Cardinals coverage from our award-winning team of reporters and columnists. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.