MILWAUKEE — Upon further review, Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Yovani Gallardo admits he was surprised to see how violently his knee wobbled last week in the near collision that resulted in a season-ending knee injury that he expects will be operated on next week.

Even more surprising, he said, is that he was able to get up and pitch one more inning against the Chicago Cubs.

"It felt normal," Gallardo said Friday.

But it was far from normal. When Gallardo jumped to dodge a head-first sliding Reed Johnson on May 1, the landing led to a torn ACL in his right knee.

That's the knee he bends when pushing off the rubber, a critical component in his pitching mechanics.

"After seeing the video, I'm surprised I was able to go back out," said Gallardo, who plans to do the bulk of his rehabilitation work here so he can remain with his teammates. "Maybe it was just the adrenaline running through my body."

While the Brewers have not officially declared Gallardo out for the season, it's unlikely he'll be able to play again this season.

Knee surgery isn't new to Gallardo. He underwent cartilage removal in his left knee early in spring training and missed the early part of the season.

He returned to make three starts without a decision. He allowed just four runs in 20 innings. More important, Gallardo was an innings-eater who lightened the load on the bullpen.

The Brewers had lost six straight heading into Friday night's game with St. Louis since Gallardo's injury.

"They probably won't admit it, but I think our young starters (Manny Parra and Carlos Villanueva) have been pressing to pick up for Yovani," Yost said. "(Gallardo's injury) takes a big chunk out of things."

Gallardo returned to Milwaukee the day after the incident when he learned of the seriousness of the injury.

"I was pretty upset the whole day," he recalled. "I was (ticked) off, but I got over it. What can I do? It happens."

Turnbow takes demotion

Derrick Turnbow's days of as a Brewers reliever might not be over yet.

Turnbow, designated for assignment May 2 after a series of rough outings that carried over from late last season, cleared waivers Friday and accepted an assignment with the Brewers Class AAA Nashville team, where he will report Monday.

General manager Doug Melvin has indicated several teams had inquired about Turnbow but offered only a mid-level prospect while asking the Brewers to pay a portion of the $2.5 million salary Turnbow is due for the rest of this season.

Melvin said he was not willing to eat a large portion of Turnbow's salary unless offered a top prospect.

Turnbow would have forfeited the remainder of his salary this season if he had not accepted the assignment with Nashville.

Turnbow saved 63 games for the Brewers between 2004 and 2006 and earned a spot on the 2006 All-Star team but eventually lost his closer's job to Francisco Cordero in the second half of the 2006 season.

Turnbow then became a reliable set-up man for Cordero last season until having a rough second half and becoming a favorite target of the boo birds at Miller Park.

The hangover from that lingered into this season in which Turnbow carried a 15.63 earned run average in eight outings.

"He needs to go into a less pressured situation and work some things out," Yost said. "I was hoping he'd stay with us because when he's right, he's real productive. This could be beneficial for him and us."

Around the horn

The Brewers did not make it back from Florida until 3:30 a.m. Friday, so Yost called off Friday's formal batting practice and let the players hit in the batting cages on the lower level of the stadium. "You get to bed at 5 and you're in a real hurry to get to sleep,'' Yost said. "Sometimes these days are really good for you.'' … First baseman Prince Fielder celebrated his 24^th birthday Friday. … Saturday's game time has been moved up 5 minutes to 2:40 p.m. to accommodate a Fox regional telecast.