Kansas City, Mo. ? Right-hander Scott Elarton, the Kansas City Royals’ opening day starter, had season-ending shoulder surgery to repair his labrum on Tuesday.

“Everything went well,” Royals general manager Dayton Moore said.

Dr. Richard Hawkins performed the surgery in Spartanburg, S.C. Dr. Hawkins operated on Elarton’s shoulder in March 2002. Elarton missed that entire season.

“I think we’ve got to look at mid-June next year,” Moore said of Elarton returning to the major leagues. “Sometimes those timetables fluctuate based on how a guy does in the first month of rehab. That is probably pushing it a little bit, being optimistic.”

Elarton, who signed a two-year, $8 million contract with the Royals as a free agent in December, was 4-9 with a 5.34 earned-run average in 20 starts. He was placed on the disabled list on July 18.

Manager Buddy Bell said Elarton would start throwing off a flat surface in four months and, if all goes well, off a mound in December.