Jon Niese will miss the next couple of weeks with a partial tear of his rotator cuff.

Jonathon Niese has been diagnosed with a partially torn rotator cuff, although surgery is not immediately being recommended, assistant general manager John Ricco said.

The diagnosis came after Niese was examined by team doctor David Altchek on Friday at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan.

Niese had departed a start on Thursday in Atlanta in the fourth inning, after experiencing pain in his pitching shoulder and a drop in velocity while delivering pitches to Tyler Pastornicky.

The southpaw landed on the disabled list Friday.

The Mets called up submariner Greg Burke to take Niese’s roster spot.

He doesn’t need surgery…yet. The team will try to treat the injury with rest and physical therapy – pretty standard procedure. Surgery is always the last option.

One wonders if Niese’s outings in arctic conditions in Minneapolis/St. Paul and Denver had anything to do with his shoulder troubles. He’s also struggled with his arm angle, which may have either caused or been a result of shoulder discomfort.

It’s a shame this happened just when the starting rotation, present and future, was starting to come together. It will be up to Gee, Marcum, and Hefner to step it up.

Who knows how serious this is yet, but any shoulder injury is disconcerting.