"After the Red Sox play their last game of 2011, whenever that might be, Kevin Youkilis will undergo surgery to relieve him of the sports hernia that has existed for most of the season.

Until then, the third baseman intends to keep playing.

Youkilis was 0-for-3 with a hit by pitch and a strikeout upon his return to the lineup for last night's 18-6 rout of the Blue Jays at Fenway Park [map]. He missed the three-game weekend sweep by the Tampa Bay Rays while getting treatment in Boston for the hernia and bursitis in his left hip.

"The bottom line for me is going out there and playing through it," said Youkilis, who was removed in the eighth inning last night. "There's a lot of guys banged up here. I'm not the only individual here. In September, there are always a lot of guys hurting and feeling stuff.""