Angels’ David Fletcher undergoes surgery that will sideline him a couple of months

David Fletcher underwent surgery Tuesday to repair the adductor muscles in both legs and an abdominal muscle, a procedure that will sideline the Angels infielder for “a couple of months,� according to Mike Frostad, the team’s head athletic trainer.

Fletcher was placed on the 15-day injured list because of a left hip strain Sunday, but doctors in Philadelphia found enough damage in his right hip Monday to warrant surgical repairs on both legs.

“It’s not unusual — usually if one’s bad, the other one is bad too,� Frostad said. “So it’s good to get them both fixed now instead of doing one now, because down the road, if [the other hip] needs it, it’s another length of time that he has to miss. Doing both today was not the worst idea.�

Frostad said injuries to the adductor muscles, which are on the inside of the hip, near the groin, are common in hockey and becoming more common in baseball. The prognosis for Fletcher, he said, is good.

“The surgeon he’s very optimistic,� Frostad said. “He’s done hundreds of these procedures, and he’s seen guys come back with no issues.�

Fletcher, in the second year of a five-year, $26-million contract, suffered the injury in spring training. He opened the season as the Angels shortstop but played in only five games before going on the injured list for three weeks.

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After a short triple-A rehabilitation stint, Fletcher returned to the Angels on April 29 and played in nine games, but he was not completely healed. He hit .158 (six for 38) with two doubles, two RBIs, three walks and two strikeouts in 14 games.

“We just want to get him well,� Angels manager Joe Maddon said. “It was obvious he was not able to move like he’s capable of moving. He tried, but he knew he could not be himself, and to play a whole season like that is no fun. So just hit the pause button to get everything right and then come on back and help us.�

Short hops

Starting catcher Max Stassi was placed on the injured list with no designation before Tuesday night’s game against Tampa Bay. Veteran catcher Austin Romine was activated, and Maddon said that both he and Chad Wallach will split catching duties in place of Stassi and Kurt Suzuki, who is also on the injured list with no designation. … Right-hander Griffin Canning, on the 60-day injured list because of a stress reaction in his lower back, “was a little more sore than expected� after throwing a two-inning, 30-pitch simulated game Monday, and Frostad said he will back off from throwing for a few days.