TORONTO (AP) – Derek Jeter, the heart and soul of the Yankees, was knocked out of New York’s opener Monday night with a dislocated left shoulder after a violent collision at third base with Toronto catcher Ken Huckaby.

Jeter was down for more than 10 minutes, writhing in pain and surrounded by worried teammates. He was helped onto a cart by trainers Gene Monahan and Steve Donohue, strapped in place sitting upright and taken off the field – his head bent, his face dripping with sweat.

The shoulder was popped back in place and Jeter was taken to a hospital for X-rays.

There was no immediate word on how long New York would be without the five-time All-Star, the Yankees’ leader during their run of four World Series titles and five AL pennants since 1996.

Jeter was trying to go from first to third in the third inning when Jason Giambi hit a comebacker, and Toronto’s defense was shifted to the right side of the infield. Huckaby ran up the line to field first baseman Carlos Delgado’s throw. Jeter dived headfirst into the bag, and Huckaby fell, his shin guard driving into Jeter’s shoulder.

Jeter immediately began writhing as Yankees’ trainers, teammates and manager Joe Torre gathered around. ttDr. Erin Boynton and Dr. Ron Taylor of the Blue Jays also came out to help Jeter, while Huckaby watched anxiously from the dugout with a towel in his mouth.

Jeter was called out on the play because he fell off the base when he was hurt.

On Sunday, Yankees manager Joe Torre talked about how much healthier Jeter looked this spring and that he seemed “free and easy” at the plate.

It was a difficult spring for Jeter. Owner George Steinbrenner publicly questioned his “focus” in the offseason and said he was worried that off-field activities detracted from on-field performance.

Jeter, MVP of the 2000 All-Star game and World Series, hit a career-low .297 last season with 18 homers and 75 RBIs. His batting average has dropped three straight years, from .349 in 1999 to his first sub-.300 average last season.

Jeter has said part of his problems could have been caused by a right shoulder injury that prevented him from doing upper-body work in 2001 and 2002.

Jeter has been very durable in his career, playing through a variety of nagging ailments and has even tried to hide injuries from Torre so he could stay in the lineup.

He has been on the disabled list only three times in his career, never for more than 16 days at a time.

AP-ES-03-31-03 2050EST