Miami — It's likely that Braves reliever Peter Moylan will need reconstructive elbow surgery, though he will wait two weeks before a final decision is made.

The Braves' top setup man was examined Wednesday by Dr. James Andrews, who concurred with an earlier diagnosis by a team doctor: There's a bone spur pressing against the ulnar collateral ligament in Moylan's pitching elbow, which has "compromised" the ligament.

"We're disappointed, for both Peter and our club," Braves general manager Frank Wren said, "because he was an important part of our bullpen.

"We hope that the rehab in two weeks will improve his chances of returning this year, but understand that they may not be possible."

Moylan gave up three runs in his first appearance of 2007. Since then the sidearming Aussie posted a 1.51 ERA in 86 appearances, and last season he ranked third in the NL with 90 relief innings.

Third baseman Chipper Jones was asked how big a blow it was to lose Moylan, one of the most durable and effective relievers in baseball in 2007.

"Big," Jones said. "Huge."

Moylan will continue treatment before being reevaluated to determine if UCL reconstruction, commonly known as "Tommy John surgery," is necessary.

"It's not good," manager Bobby Cox said of the diagnosis. "They want to wait two weeks and see how it reacts. We'll just have to wait and see. Couple weeks either way is not going to make any difference, if he does do it."

Whether he had the surgery now or two weeks from now, he would miss the entire season and probably most or all of spring training. Typical recovery from Tommy John surgery is 11-13 months.

"It's going to be real tough [to replace him]," said rookie reliever Blaine Boyer, who could be thrust into more pressure situations in Moylan's absence. "Pete, he's just had a rubber arm. He just threw up nasty stuff all the time.

"That's just a huge loss for us. But we've got to pick him up, and I think we've got the guys to do it."

The Braves have gone 10 days without closer Rafael Soriano (elbow tendinitis), who's eligible to come off the disabled list Tuesday and thinks he'll be ready.

Cox said he hoped Soriano was right, but wouldn't know until he tested his arm on the mound. Soriano has only played catch since he was DL'd, and said he expects to throw this weekend off the bullpen mound at Turner Field.

Wren was asked if the Braves have enough depth to pick up the slack and fill in for Moylan, or if they'll try to make a trade.

"I think we do have depth in our bullpen, but we're continually looking to improve that area," he said.