NEW YORK (AP) — Carl Crawford appears to be headed for season-ending surgery on his left elbow.

The Boston Red Sox said Sunday they planned to meet and decide the following day whether the left fielder will have Tommy John surgery. Citing an anonymous source, ESPN reported hours later that Crawford is expected to have the operation Tuesday.

Crawford has been playing with pain since coming off the disabled list last month. He has said he’s been told he will need Tommy John surgery at some point to repair the torn ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing arm.

“Carl’s given it everything he has. From everything I gather, the elbow situation is kind of trending in the wrong way,” manager Bobby Valentine said Sunday night after a 4-1 loss to the New York Yankees.

Crawford went 1 for 4 with a ninth-inning single, perhaps his final at-bat of the year. The Red Sox are off Monday.

“We’ll take that time to talk with Carl and the doctors and kind of get to the bottom of this entire situation,” Valentine said before the game.

Asked if the discussion would be about whether Crawford needs surgery at all or simply when he should have it, general manager Ben Cherington said: “A little of both.”

If he has the ligamentreplacement surgery, it’s estimated Crawford could return to the lineup six to nine months later. The fourth-place Red Sox are 59- 63, leaving them 13.5 games behind the first-place Yankees in the AL East and 7.5 out in the wild-card race.

Crawford was a major disappointment last season, his first with Boston after signing a $142 million, seven-year contract. He missed the first 89 games of this season while recovering from left wrist surgery.

He partially tore his elbow ligament in April while rehabbing, slowing his return. Crawford was activated from the disabled list July 16 and is batting .282 with three homers and 19 RBIs. He has 10 doubles and 13 extra-base hits in August.