A-Rod relieved that hip injury is not related to surgery

Alex Rodriguez said he was "very happy, very relieved" that an MRI taken Friday showed he has tendinitis in his right hip flexor that is not related to the major surgery he had in March 2009.

"There's no relation," Rodriguez said after the Yankees' 4-3 win over the Astros at Yankee Stadium. "That's what I understood. No relation. The doctor told me that."

Rodriguez was not in the lineup on Friday and may miss the entire weekend series against Houston. With the Yankees off Monday, the next time A-Rod plays could be Tuesday against the Phillies.

"It does make logic sense," he said.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi considered the time in the MRI tube well spent after Rodriguez left Thursday's game in Baltimore after one inning with what he called groin stiffness.

"To me, the good thing is it's not his labrum - what he had surgery on - it's not the hip socket, which he had surgery on," Girardi said. "So to me this is about as good a news as we could have got."

Rodriguez was examined by team doctor Chris Ahmad, who A-Rod said consulted with Marc Philippon, the Colorado-based orthopedic surgeon who operated on A-Rod to repair a torn labrum. Last October, Philippon announced that A-Rod did not need a second surgery, which had been a possibility after the first one.

Rodriguez has been troubled since Sunday. He continued to insist on Friday that the trouble was in his groin, which may be a matter of semantics.

The important news for the Yankees is that A-Rod says the area that was surgically repaired "feels pretty darn strong, to be honest with you. It's the first, second and third question you ask immediately, and they assured me that it has nothing to do with a second surgery or perhaps it deteriorating or going the other way. They actually said it really has nothing to do with it. So that's very encouraging."

Speaking before he knew the MRI results, Girardi said anything related to Rodriguez's right hip sends up a "red flag" to the Yankees.

"There's concern that there could be something going on in the hip," Girardi said. "There's always concern because of what he's been through. If he hadn't had the hip problem, I probably wouldn't even think about it. Because he's had a history of it, we've got to worry."