Posted by Sabrina B. @gametimegirl

New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez has elected to undergo arthroscopic surgery to repair a slight meniscus tear in his right knee, a team spokesman confirmed Sunday.

He is expected to miss four to six weeks.

Rodriguez met with Dr. Lee Kaplan in Miami on Sunday, and Kaplan recommended that Rodriguez go under the knife. The surgery will be performed by Dr. Kaplan at the University of Miami on Monday.

An MRI on Friday first revealed the tear.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi said on Sunday that, if Rodriguez opted for surgery, undergoing the procedure now would be ideal given the Yankees will have four days off during the All-Star break.

“There’s no doubt we’re going to miss him, but we need to find a way. As I’ve said several times already this year, some people are going to have to step up,” Girardi said. “Up to this point, this team has. We certainly look forward to getting a healthy Alex back into our lineup, because we know what he adds to this team.”

If he hadn’t opted for surgery, Rodriguez could have tried to play through it and have the procedure in the offseason.

But Girardi expressed concern that Rodriguez would be forced to play eight consecutive games on turf after the All-Star break if he decided to forgo surgery. The Yankees open the second half with a four-game series in Toronto and then head to Tampa Bay for a four-game set.

Rodriguez originally suffered the injury on June 19 in Chicago. He thought about scoring on a passed ball, but ultimately decided against it. And in the process of turning back toward third base, Rodriguez tweaked his knee.

“It’s hard to get into missing 20, 30, 40 games when you don’t know, but at the same time you don’t want to limp toward the finish line,” Rodriguez said after not playing in the Yankees’ 5-4 win over the Rays on Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium. “The most important games are played at the end.”

He had already withdrawn from the 2011 All-Star Game on Tuesday in Phoenix.

“It is what it is,” Rodriguez said. “Most players play with bumps and bruises, but you never expect it to be a tear. Obviously, it was disappointing.”

Girardi said Saturday that pitcher CC Sabathia played through the same injury last season.

“It was tough but it’s different for me because I cover first maybe once every other game and things like that and he’s out there diving for balls and trying to drive balls and running the bases,” Sabathia said. “I can only imagine how tough is it.”

Outfielder Andruw Jones also suffered from the injury during 2008, when he played for the Dodgers. He woke up one day and said he couldn’t walk and opted to have the surgery. The injury caused a leaking of fluid in his knee and a cyst on the back of his knee had to be drained.

As he tried to come back, Jones said he was running in his second week and came back in four weeks, but that was too soon and he got hurt again and landed back on the disabled list. Jones added that it affected his power and he did not have his leg under him at the plate.

Rodriguez has not hit a home run in his past 85 at-bats, the longest drought of his career, and has just seven extra-base hits in that stretch.

WRITTEN BY Ian Begley and Mike Mazzeo are regular contributors to ESPNNewYork.com.