Yankees send Teixeira back to New York for tests on ailing leg

Hours before a pivotal series against their rivals at Fenway Park, the New York Yankees were dealt a potentially devastating blow.

Mark Teixeira, the Yankees' leader in home runs this season, returned to New York on Monday to undergo tests on his ailing leg, which has kept the slugger out of the lineup for 10 of the club's last 12 games.

''He woke up today and he was still sore, so we sent him back to kind of just redo the test to make sure,'' manager Joe Girardi told reporters ahead of Monday's opener against the Red Sox.

Teixeira, a candidate for Comeback Player of the Year, has 31 homers and a .905 OPS in 111 games.

New York enters play just 1 1/2 games behind the AL East-leading Toronto Blue Jays.