ARLINGTON, Texas -- Texas Rangers right-hander Colby Lewis will miss the remainder of the season and will have surgery this week to repair a torn flexor tendon in his right elbow.

Lewis said doctors told him it could be nine to 12 months before he's 100 percent healthy and ready to pitch in the big leagues again.

"It's disappointing not only for me and my family but for my teammates, for the organization," said Lewis, who was placed on the disabled list before Monday's game with Boston. The club recalled 21-year-old Martin Perez to start in Lewis' place on Tuesday. "The biggest thing I want to do is go out and perform and be on that mound. It sucks. I don't know any other words to really say it."

Lewis said he knew there was a small tear in the tendon prior to his last start, July 18 against Oakland. But it was a matter of whether he could pitch through it. He said he felt great in his bullpen and long toss sessions and wanted to give it a try.

"Like anything else, with my hip, shoulder, I've been known to kind of push through things and get the job done," Lewis said. "We shot it to see if it felt better and it felt really good. He said it's kind of like a hamstring or a pulled anything. It's going to feel good for a while but then you stress it and it's going to start to tighten up.

"That's what did in the game versus Oakland. It felt good for three innings. Then it tightened up in the fourth and fifth inning. I didn't want to push through it. I didn't want it to be one of those things where one pitch and everything went popping. It sucks."

The news comes a little more than a week before the trade deadline. The Rangers have scouted some of the starting pitchers that could be on the market and this news could increase the club's need for another arm for the stretch run and into the postseason. Texas goes into Monday's game five games ahead of the Los Angeles Angels in the AL West.