New York ( CNN ) -- Longtime New York Yankees icon Derek Jeter underwent surgery Saturday in Charlotte , North Carolina , to mend the left ankle he fractured fielding a ground ball in the 12th inning of what was the beginning of his team 's post-season collapse . The Bombers ' captain is expected to recover within four to five months , according to a team spokesman . But the injury has only added to looming questions about how many more seasons the aging all-star has left in pinstripes . Finishing off the year with 216 hits , the most in baseball , the 38-year-old shortstop -- nicknamed `` Mr. November '' -- has played 18 seasons in Gotham and has often said he would like to finish his career as a Yankee . A virtual shoo-in for Major League Baseball 's Hall of Fame , Jeter last year became only the 28th player in baseball history -- and the first Yankee -- to reach the 3,000-hit mark . News of Saturday 's surgery also coincided with the birthday of another Bombers legend : Mickey Mantle , who played 18 seasons with the team between 1951 and 1968 . But when Jeter will join the list of past Yankee greats remains a mystery that most New Yorkers are n't looking to unravel just yet . `` We 've had to move on from a lot of things this year , '' said Manager Joe Girardi in a postgame press conference following the team 's 6-4 loss to Detroit last weekend . `` We 've lost the greatest closer of all time where people left us for dead . ... It is something you deal with , an aging roster . '' In March , pitcher Mariano Rivera -- the 42-year-old Panama native who has long endeared himself to New Yorkers with his signature cut fastball -- was faced with the daunting prospect of a career-ending injury with a tear to his anterior cruciate ligament , or ACL . Rivera , baseball 's all-time leading career saves leader ( 608 ) , hit the dirt in agony while shagging fly balls during a practice session in Kansas City , leaving the Yankees to fill his shoes with a younger though surprisingly proficient pitching staff . `` If you want to move on , you 've got to find a way , '' Girardi said . But the Tigers on Thursday swept the Yanks , whose hitters largely struggled throughout the post-season with a measly .188 playoff batting average , raising questions about the team 's penchant for aging stars and amplifying calls to develop the next generation of Yankee greats .
The Bombers ' captain is expected to recover within 4-5 months , according to a team spokesman . He finished off the year with 216 hits , the most in baseball . News of the surgery also coincided with the birthday of another Yankee icon : Mickey Mantle .