BOSTON – Kevin Youkilis has suffered various dings and dents for most of the season, from the expected bruises to the lower back strain that put him on the disabled list, missing 16 games. But the Red Sox third baseman said before Tuesday’s series opener against the Blue Jays at Fenway Park he now has bursitis in his left hip and a sports hernia. He doesn’t expect to miss any time, but the hernia will require surgery after the season.”Basically it’s just going out there and playing, playing through it,” Youkilis said. “And after the season, I’m going to address the sports hernia issue by getting surgery. It’s an easy procedure that a lot of guys have done. It’s the second time I’ve had [a hernia]. Had it in 2006. We just let it heal and it worked. It’s just something that, with an easy process, will hopefully let me come back feeling good.”Youkilis, who was in the starting lineup last night, playing third and batting fifth, is batting just .261, well below his .290 career average and his .307 last season, limited to 102 games because of injury. His slugging (.467) and on-base percentages (.375) are also below the norm for him, likely a by-product of his various injuries.”I don’t doubt it,” said manager Terry Francona. “There’s probably a lot of things that come into batting average. I think a batting average is kind of an indication of maybe the quality of your at-bats, the consistency. Youk’s been banged up. He’s managed to be very productive, which is good, but his batting average is a little lower. If something has to give, I would rather, I guess, it be that than some of the production. We still want him in the middle of the order. I think playing third, playing through some of his injuries have taken a toll, for sure.”After going on the DL Aug. 18, Youkilis returned Sept. 2. But he went just 5-for-27 (.185) entering last night’s game. He missed the weekend series in Tampa Bay, returning from Toronto to Boston to be examined. After working out at Fenway on the offday Monday, both Youkilis and Francona were confident he could rejoin the lineup.”I called him a couple of times and he said, ‘No, I’m ready to go,'” Francona said. “I think because he knows where he’s at physically, I think he’s probably able to try to get through this a little bit. You may not see him steal 30 bases, which probably wasn’t going to happen anyway. But I think he can still be productive, like he was. And if we need to keep an eye on him, we certainly will. Try to pick our spots to maybe rest him a little bit. But, having him back right in the middle of the order should help, especially against left-handed pitching.”Youkilis has grown accustomed to the various aches and pains.”I always joke around and say once you put on your spikes in spring training, you’re not healthy for the rest of the year,” he said. “That’s every guy in baseball. You’ve got an even playing field with that. You’ve got to play through stuff and try to help your team as much as you can.”The Red Sox could use Youkilis – as well as the rest of the lineup – to be productive. After getting swept in Tampa Bay over the weekend, they entered last night with just a three-game lead for the American League wild card, down from eight games at the start of the last road trip.”I’m not concerned,” Youkilis said. “We’re still ahead. It’s in our control. We go out there and win ballgames. That’s all we’ve got to do.”The mood in the clubhouse right now, all I can say is crowded. There’s a lot of lockers, like there is in September, and there’s a lot of media. So you can’t really see what’s going on. It is as full to capacity as possible.”Whether that will be the case in October remains to be seen.