NEW YORK -- New York Mets catcher Mike Piazza will miss at least six weeks and possibly the rest of the season, after tearing his right groin muscle last week.

"It is in the back of your mind. It's the ultimate fear," Piazza said yesterday of any long-term effects.

"But I'm not looking at that right now. I just want to get the swelling out."

Piazza saw team physician Dr. Andrew Rokito, who said the all-star catcher had a Grade 3 strain -- the most serious kind -- with the muscle partially torn off the bone. Piazza will not need surgery.

"Six weeks is certainly the low end of it," Mets GM Steve Phillips said. "It's hard to pinpoint beyond that."

Asked if the injury could be season-ending, Phillips said, "It's possible. We don't know. We're leaving it as an indefinite period of time. We can't pinpoint it. It depends on the symptoms and the rehab process."

Piazza was the Mets' leading hitter, batting .333 with a team-leading seven homers and 15 RBIs before hurting himself trying to avoid an inside pitch from San Francisco's Jason Schmidt Friday.

After a slow start, Piazza found his groove before the injury, hitting .500 (12-for-24) with four homers and nine RBIs in his last seven games.

Piazza, who is on crutches, will begin his rehab after the swelling goes down in about two weeks. While he hopes to come back as soon as he can, Piazza knows rushing will only cause more problems.

"You can only go as fast as your engine permits," he said. "If you hit the gas and nothing is there you can't go. It's baby steps. You have to crawl before you walk."