New York Mets broadcaster Ron Darling, who is being sued by former teammate Lenny Dykstra, announced Saturday that he is taking a leave of absence from his broadcasting duties because of health reasons.

Darling, the former Mets’ pitching great who is beginning his 14th season as the Mets’ analyst for SNY, revealed during Saturday night's game against the Braves in Atlanta that "a series of tests revealed a large mass in my chest which will require surgery next week to remove."

Barring unforeseen issues, Darling could return to the airwaves in May.

"Doctors have told me if there are no complications I should be back on air talking baseball sometime next month," Darling said during the broadcast.

Former Met Todd Zeile will fill in for Darling during his medical leave.

“Our thoughts and prayers continuously remain with Ron for a full recovery and we look forward to seeing him back in the broadcast booth soon,” said owners Fred and Jeff Wilpon in a statement.

Two close friends of Darling told USA TODAY Sports that his reason for stepping down is solely related to health reasons, and not the Dykstra lawsuit. The friends spoke only on the condition of anonymity because Darling had not yet made his public announcement.

Dykstra sued Darling, his former teammate, along with St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Publishing Group over a passage in his new book accusing Dykstra of directing racist comments toward Boston Red Sox pitcher "Oil Can" Boyd during the 1986 World Series.

Darling, in his book: “108 Stitches: Loose Threads, Ripping Yarns, and the Darndest Characters from My Time in the Game," wrote that Dykstra was "one of baseball's all-time thugs" and was in the on-deck circle at Boston's Fenway Park before Game 3 of the 1986 World Series shouting racist insults towards Boyd. Darling called it "the worst collection of taunts and insults I'd ever heard — worse, I'm betting, than anything Jackie Robinson might have heard, his first couple times around the league."

The lawsuit filed by Dykstra said: “No such racist tirade ever occurred.’’