Chase Utley has surgery on right hip

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PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- Philadelphia second baseman Chase Utley has undergone hip surgery, a procedure that will keep him off the baseball field for up to six months.

Phillies officials said Utley had the operation Monday on his right hip. Doctors said the procedure -- an arthroscopic debridement of the labrum -- went as expected. However, they also said a recovery period of four to six months was still in line, so Utley could be sidelined through May 2009.

Utley, 29, was reported to have trouble with his right hip throughout the 2008 season and his statistics dropped off after the All-Star break. His batting average the second half of the year was about 50 points less than the first half and his home run production also dropped off about half. He finished the year hitting .292 with 33 home runs and 104 runs batted in.

Utley hit .353 with a home run and three RBI in the Phillies' National League Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He hit .167 with one home run in Philadelphia's World Series victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.