Dustin Fowler suffered an open rupture of the patellar tendon in his right knee crashing into the first-base-line rail during Thursday night's game between the New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox.

The injury occurred in the first inning of his Major League debut.

The Yankees said he would undergo surgery later in Thursday evening at Chicago's Rush University Medical Center. Joe Girardi said Fowler's season is over and he thought the recovery time would be at least six months and possibly longer.

"I was in tears, actually," Girardi said. "Because I know what it takes to get here and how hard he has worked and what is supposed to be a really exciting day for him turns into a really bad day. I'm still disbelief. I'm in tears for the kid."

Fowler, 22, batted .293 with 13 homers and 43 RBIs in 70 Triple-A games.