"So much for the Joba Rules.

Joba Chamberlain appears headed for Tommy John surgery after a dye-contrast MRI Thursday revealed a torn ligament in his elbow.

The Yankees are sending Chamberlain's MRI results to Dr. James Andrews for a second opinion at the requests of the pitcher's agents, but the team is resigned to surgery being the final result, meaning he would be out for the next year.

"We're sending the films to Andrews, but from our perspective it's indisputable that it's Tommy John," Brian Cashman said. "It's torn. His strength and stuff is there. The MRI doesn't necessarily match up with any symptoms."

The news stunned Chamberlain, who said he feels no pain in his elbow. He had stiffness after playing catch on Tuesday, but an MRI Wednesday revealed nothing more than a strained flexor tendon in the elbow.

"It sucks; there's no way to sugar-coat it," Chamberlain said. "It's something I didn't expect, obviously, with no pain or anything like that."

After undergoing the more detailed MRI Thursday, Chamberlain could barely believe what he heard from Dr. Chris Ahmad, the Yankees' team physician.

"I kind of saw Dr. Ahmad's head down, so I was like, 'Damn, that's probably not good,'" Chamberlain said. "For about the first 30 seconds, I said, 'This sucks.' Then I said a couple prayers and said, 'I'm going to be better for this. I'm going to learn a lot and come back stronger.' I've worked too hard to give up at this point. This is a surgery a lot of guys have had and have come back and been successful. I thought about that."

Chamberlain, 25, had consulted with several teammates who had undergone Tommy John surgery."