ST. LOUIS — St. Louis Cardinals All-Star catcher Yadier Molina will undergo surgery Friday to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb and will be sidelined eight to 12 weeks.

The Cardinals recalled catcher Audrey Perez from Triple-A Memphis before Thursday night’s game against Pittsburgh.

Molina was injured Wednesday when he planted his hand for balance after sliding feet-first into third base in the second inning. He caught another half-inning before Tony Cruz hit for him in the third.

Molina was voted to his sixth straight NL All-Star team Sunday and is a starter for the fourth time. He was hitting .287 with seven homers and 30 RBIs.