Alex Rodriguez's absence leaves a huge hole in the lineup for the Yankees. (Tony Dejak/Associated Press)

Alex Rodriguez is expected to be out of the New York Yankees lineup for six to nine weeks following arthroscopic hip surgery set for Monday, the team announced in Tampa, Fla.

The operation to repair a torn labrum and deal with some bone irregularity in the hip will be performed in Vail, Colo. It is likely to be followed up by further surgery at the end of the season.

More aggressive surgery to fully repair the hip now would have sidelined Rodriguez three to four months.

"The surgery that will just repair the labrum tear right now would shorten his rehab," general manager Brian Cashman told reporters during a conference call. "Then, following the conclusion of the season, going in and repair the remaining aspects that need to be repaired."

Noted hip specialist Dr. Marc Philippon will perform the surgery and said he's nearly certain that Rodriguez will be able to play to the end of the season after he returns, expected in early May.

"I firmly believe this approach will be successful and allow Alex to return," Philippon said. "We've had very good success with this approach.

"Short term, we feel the risk is very limited that he will re-tear his labrum during that six-, seven-month period."

The labrum is cartilage that lines the hip joint. It can be torn through injury or repetitive wear and tear. When arthroscopic surgery is recommended, the doctor makes small incisions to insert specialized instruments into the joint space and either removes the torn piece of labrum or repairs the cartilage with a suture.

The Yankees have an insurance policy that will reimburse some of Rodriguez's $32-million us salary this year, a baseball official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the team doesn't discuss insurance publicly. Typically, insurance on baseball contracts pays back a team a specified percentage of the salary of a player on the disabled list, after a period of days for a deductible.

The team had hoped Rodriguez could start the season without surgery after having a cyst drained last week, and treat the injury with rest and rehab.

Rotational stress

Rodriguez's hip had been fine until he experienced stiffness during spring training this year. The injury forced the 12-time all-star to skip the World Baseball Classic, where he was to play for the Dominican Republic.

Philippon attributed the labrum tear to the rotational stress that Rodriguez — "a very strong hitter, strong batter" — places on his hip.

"Because of all the test findings, analysis, the function of Alex, I feel it's in his best interest to have his labrum repaired, remove part of his impingement and therefore stabilize his labrum," he said. "The goal here is to allow Alex to rehab rapidly in a safe manner."

Rodriguez will stay in Colorado for the foreseeable future.

"We'll keep Alex with us certainly for the first few weeks," said Philippon, who has treated several sports stars, including golfer Greg Norman and figure skater Tara Lipinski. "The main reason being we're going to put him on the fast track so we will be very aggressive on his rehab. We'll check on Alex twice a day."

'Right thing'

Yankees outfielder Johnny Damon, speaking from Lakeland, Fla., where New York played the Detroit Tigers, said Rodriguez was doing the "right thing" in addressing the injury now.

"Now we know that we're going to lose him for a little bit of time," Damon said. "I think it's better to get it out of the way, especially since he's going to be in New York for eight more years after this year. So you might as well take care of it."

Last year, Rodriguez was sidelined from April 28 to May 20 because of a strained right quadriceps, his fifth career trip to the disabled list. An MRI exam at that time showed what Cashman called an "irregularity" in the right hip.

His absence this time around would leave a huge hole in the lineup for the Yankees as they try to rebound after missing the playoffs last season following 13 consecutive post-season appearances.

The leading internal candidate to take over at third would be Cody Ransom, 33, who has a .251 average and 24 RBI in 183 at-bats over six major league seasons.

With files from the Associated Press