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Mets R.A. Dickey pitched most of season with torn abdominal muscle

Mets pitcher R.A. Dickey revealed that he has been pitching with an abdominal injury since April. (Marc Serota/Getty Images)

<> at Marlins Park on October 2, 2012 in Miami, Florida.

New York Mets pitcher R.A. Dickey revealed after last night's start against the Miami Marlins that he pitched most of the season with an injured abdominal muscle and will have surgery to fix the problem, reports MLB.com.

Dickey said since he has been pitching since April with a torn right abdominal muscle and will undergo surgery on Oct. 18 to repair the tear. Dickey should be ready for spring training.

"The pain was fairly significant from time to time," Dickey said, who pitched 7 2/3 innings in the Mets 4-3, 11-inning loss. "We just did a good job of managing that. Whether it was backing off in the bullpen in between starts or getting the treatment that I needed or whatever else I needed to help with that pain, we were able to do it in a way that I was able to perform and not worry about it."

Dickey finished a Cy Young-caliber season with a 20-6 record, 2.73 ERA and 230 strikeouts in 233 2/3 innings. He said he was just hoping the injury wouldn't get any worse.

"I was on my knees about it many times, hoping that it wasn't going to get more significant than it was," Dickey said. "My wife and I prayed quite frequently together about that because I was in the middle of a good season."