"Now that Brad Lidge has been diagnosed with a posterior rotator cuff strain in his right shoulder, the Phillies' closer says his best-case scenario would be to return sometime in July.

Tuesday's news was far worse than Lidge, or the Phillies, had hoped for.

An MRI showed the injury, which Lidge said is equivalent to a tear, not a strain. While it will not require surgery, Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro said Lidge will need at least three to six weeks of rest before he can start throwing again.

Once Lidge is cleared to begin throwing, it could take a month or more before he would be ready to pitch in a game.

"I had no idea of what it was going to be," Amaro said. "But we knew it was something because he came off and had some posterior shoulder pain. We're glad it's not a (torn) labrum. That's on the bright side of things. But it's still significant."

Lidge said if his labrum was torn, "It's season over."

Still, most of it could be over before he's ready to return.

And that's assuming there aren't any setbacks. It's also assuming that Lidge is able to get his velocity back into the low- to mid-90s. Before he was shut down last week, Lidge was throwing in the mid-80s.

"They say between three and six weeks of rest is reasonable," Lidge said. "Then you've got to build up for however long it takes on the other side. In my mind, I'm thinking I've got to be back for the second half, and to have a really good second half. I've got to make sure I'm back stronger than before. That's my goal."

Lidge is the second Phillies player to be out indefinitely. Second baseman Chase Utley is starting the season on the disabled list with patellar tendinitis in his right knee. There is no timetable for his return."