It looks as though Alex Rodriguez has a legitimate excuse for his sub-par performance and subsequent benching in this year's playoffs. The veteran third baseman reportedly tore the labrum in his hip -- the same injury that required surgery in 2009 -- sometime toward the end of the regular season.

The 37-year-old Rodriguez will undergo surgery to repair the injury in January, and will have a three- to six-month recovery time, per the New York Post. The Yankees expect A-Rod to be fully recovered by June or July.

Though originally reported as a re-tear of his right hip, the injury is actually a completely different tear in his left hip. When A-Rod struggled during the playoffs, doctors looked at the veteran slugger's surgically repaired hip but overlooked his left. It was not until well after the postseason ended that the damage to his left hip was discovered in an offseason physical.

Dr. Bryan Kelly from the Hospital for Special Surgery will perform the operation. Kelly is not the same doctor who performed A-Rod's hip operation in 2009.

Originally seeking a back-up infielder on the left side, the Yankees may now be much more active on the free-agent and trade markets as they look for a first-half replacement for Rodriguez.