updated 8:14 p.m. ET Jan. 27, 2004

NEW YORK - Yankees third baseman Aaron Boone injured his left knee playing basketball and may be out for the season, just three months after his hero-to-goat performance in the postseason.

Boone was hurt Jan. 16 and may have torn his anterior cruciate ligament. He was examined three days later by Anaheim Angels team physician Dr. Lewis Yocum, and Boone informed the Yankees of the injury that night.

The extent of the damage will not be known until swelling subsides, and Boone has not yet been examined by Yankees’ doctors.

If there is a complete tear, he would require reconstructive surgery that could sideline him until 2005.

“We are currently evaluating the extent of the injury and expect to solicit multiple opinions before providing a complete diagnosis,” general manager Brian Cashman said Monday.

The Yankees do not have a backup third baseman with full-time major league experience. Enrique Wilson and newly signed Miguel Cairo are options to fill the spot, as is minor leaguer Drew Henson.

New York acquired Boone from Cincinnati on July 31, just weeks after his first All-Star selection.

Boone’s 11th-inning homer off Boston’s Tim Wakefield in Game 7 of the AL championship series won the pennant for the Yankees.

In Game 4 of the World Series, Boone came up with the bases loaded and one out in the 11th inning but struck out against Florida’s Braden Looper. The Marlins won the game in the bottom half, evening the Series, and won the next two games to take the title.

Boone, 30, agreed Dec. 1 to a $5.75 million, one-year contract, and the agreement contained language saying it would become nonguaranteed if he played basketball.

“Concerning his contract, I can confirm that there are certain prohibited activities, which include basketball,” Cashman said.

Boone is eligible for free agency after next season, and if the Yankees successfully converted the deal to a nonguaranteed contract, they could release him and be responsible for only 30 days’ termination pay, $917,553, instead of the full salary, which is paid over a 188-day season.

The injury could create an opening for Henson, the former University of Michigan quarterback who has struggled in the Yankees’ farm system.

Henson agreed to a $17 million, six-year contract with the Yankees in 2001. He hit .234 with 14 homers, 40 doubles and 78 RBIs at Triple-A Columbus this season. He also struck out 122 times and made 28 errors at third base, and the trade for Boone signaled that New York did not think Henson would be ready for 2004.

Notes: The Yankees exhibition game against Detroit in Lakeland, Fla., on April 2 has been canceled. After playing the opening-two game series in Tokyo on March 30-31, the Yankees will return to Tampa early on April 1. Gene Orza, the union’s No. 2 official, said the trip to Lakeland had been scheduled before the games in Japan and would be “unnecessarily burdensome.” Tampa Bay’s exhibition game against Cleveland on April 2 also has been canceled, and the Tigers may play the Indians that day.

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