Derek Jeter fractures ankle

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NEW YORK -- New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter will miss the rest of the playoffs after suffering a fractured left ankle while trying to make a diving play in the 12th inning of Saturday night's 6-4 loss to the Detroit Tigers in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi said Jeter will need approximately three months to recover, but the injury is not career-ending.

"His ankle is fractured, so he's out. He's out," Girardi said.

General manager Brian Cashman was unsure whether surgery would be required. Cashman said Jeter will undergo further testing.

Cashman added that Jeter will be ready for the start of spring training in 2013.

"It's something that winter will take care of, but I've got only limited information and with the shock of the bad news, there wasn't much dialogue after that," Cashman said.

Jeter dove to his left as he attempted to field a ground ball off the bat of Tigers shortstop Jhonny Peralta, but his ankle twisted under him as he went to the ground. He flipped the ball to second baseman Robinson Cano to prevent a run from scoring.

Jeter stayed on the ground in obvious pain, and had to be helped off the field by Girardi and trainer Steve Donahue. He could not put any weight on his injured ankle. As he headed into the dugout, the Yankee Stadium crowd began to chant "Der-ek Je-ter! Der-ek Je-ter!"

"I just wasn't sure if it was the knee or the ankle," Cashman said. "He's been dealing with the ankle so much. The only other time he's had to get carted off the field was when he dislocated his shoulder in Toronto. He is as tough as they come, so when you see that, you know it's serious.

"For him to lay down on that field, I knew something was broke or torn completely," said Game 1 starter and fellow Yankees veteran Andy Pettitte. "When I saw him not get up, I knew he was done, really. That doesn't surprise me at all.

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"It's bad. It's a bad loss. Obviously, it's your captain and we got a game tomorrow. We got to move forward and guys are going to step up to play out there. Just have to do a good job for us."

Jayson Nix will replace Jeter at shortstop. Cashman said that third baseman Alex Rodriguez would not be a viable option. Eduardo Nunez was added to the roster. Nunez had been dropped from the roster at the start of the series to make way for right-handed reliever Cody Eppley.

"Nix will go in there," Cashman said. "We have a lot of confidence in Nix."

Game 2 of the ALCS is Sunday afternoon.

"Is it a big loss? Yes," Cashman said. "Is it something that's going to stop us from dreaming about achieving our goal? No."

Jeter received the devastating news from team physician Dr. Christopher Ahmad.

Cashman said that himself, Girardi, Donahue and Jeter's former manager, Joe Torre, as well as Reggie Jackson and Tino Martinez were all in the room when Jeter heard he was done for the playoffs.

" 'It's something you can't play through.' That's something Doc had to emphasize, because Derek is as tough as they come," Cashman said.

Asked what Jeter's reaction was, Cashman responded, "He didn't have one."

At the time of Jeter's injury, the Yankees were trailing 5-4 following designated hitter Delmon Young's RBI double.

Jeter suffered a bone bruise in his left foot in Game 3 of the ALDS. He also suffered a bone bruise in his left ankle in September.

Jeter, 38, had hit .333 in six postseason games with two RBIs. He has played in 157 career postseason games, and batted .309 with 20 home runs and 61 RBIs.

Mike Mazzeo is a regular contributor to ESPNNewYork.com. ESPNNewYork.com's Wallace Matthews and Matt Ehalt contributed to this report.

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