"Mariano Rivera has been told this morning's surgery to take polyps off his vocal cords isn't serious because the initial diagnosis looks good based on the location and texture.

Nevertheless, it's surgery and when the polyps are taken out they will likely be sent for a biopsy.

"They have to cut some polyps off the vocal cords,'' Rivera said yesterday at a Salvation Army event in which the all-time MLB save leader was honored in Midtown Manhattan. "We decided to do it as soon as possible.''

Rivera's voice has been reduced to a raspy whisper for a little more than a month because of the polyps."