SAN FRANCISCO -- Buster Posey was carted through a tunnel at AT&T Park on Thursday, a makeshift cast covering his left ankle and no emotion on his face.

Not exactly the exit the cornerstone of the World Series champion Giants wanted this season.

A night after Florida's Scott Cousins crashed into him at home plate, San Francisco's star catcher was put on the disabled list with a fractured bone in his lower left leg.

Posey has a broken fibula and severely strained ligaments in his left ankle and will miss at least six to eight weeks, Giants head trainer Dave Groeschner told the San Francisco Chronicle. Posey will need surgery on his ankle, Groeschner said, and it is possible a screw could be inserted.

"The fracture will be fine," said Groeschner. "The ankle injury is most concerning to us."

The Giants will try to get Posey into surgery within a week, and recovery time is usually about two months, the Chronicle reported.

"You just don't replace a guy like Buster Posey," said Giants manager Bruce Bochy, a former catcher who was so stricken by the news he called on Major League Baseball to review rule changes for collisions at the plate.

As word spread throughout the Giants clubhouse, players began to come to grips with what Posey's injury meant.

The normally blaring speakers near bearded closer Brian Wilson's locker were uncharacteristically silent. Televisions were turned off. No one was playing dominoes or card games.

Hard to imagine a more important position player than Posey to replace.

Posey has been San Francisco's cleanup hitter, a team leader in the clubhouse and key cog behind the plate for one of baseball's best rotations. The reigning NL Rookie of the Year was batting .284 with four home runs and 21 RBIs, just finding his groove in the midst of a 13-game hitting streak to move the Giants into first place in the NL West.

"It's part of baseball, I understand that, guys running into catchers. Being a catcher, I've been in a few of them. You're in harm's way there," Bochy said. "I think we do need to consider changing the rules here a little bit because the catcher is so vulnerable and there's so many who have gotten hurt. And not just a little bit, had their careers ended or shortened. And here's a guy who's very popular in baseball. Fans want to see him play.

"Now he's out for a while."