After an impressive 2012 MLB season where he became the first pitcher in New York Met's franchise history to record a no-hitter, Johan Santana has received the news every professional athlete dreads: season ending injury.

The two time Cy Young Award winner has re-aggravated a shoulder injury that forced him to sit out the entire 2011 season. Met's general manager Sandy Alderson said Santana has re-tore the anterior capsule in his humerus and that second surgery is a "strong possibility," ESPN reported.

The humerus is the longest bone in the human arm that stretches from the elbow all the way up to the shoulder. It is one of three bones that connect the shoulder's ball-and-socket joint, along with the clavicle and the scapula.

The anterior capsule is a collection of ligaments that keep the shoulder's ball and socket mechanism connected. When it is tor,n the ball can slide out of socket causing extreme discomfort and restricted movement.

With a successful surgery and the correct rehabilitation it is possible to make a full recovery from this type of injury, as Santana showed us last year. However, Santana's doctors are unsure how a second surgery to repair the ligament damage will affect his throwing motion.

Injuries to the anterior capsule in the shoulder seem to be common among Major League pitchers. Some notable names that have missed time due to surgery on the anterior capsule include Rich Harden, Mark Prior, Chien Ming-Wang, Dallas Braden and Santana's Mets teammate Tim Byrdak.

Ironically, it was after he threw his historical no-hitter in June 2011 that problems started to surface. Santana's pitching effectiveness dwindled in the games following his performance until he was put on the disabled list at the end of last season.

Adding insult to injury, Santana is in the final season of his six year, $137.5 million contract with the Met's. The left-handed Venezuela native is still owed $31 million which the team can choose to renegotiate.