BOSTON — Curt Schilling’s teammates, manager and general manager knew that the pitcher’s bid to pitch again this year was a long shot. But the news yesterday that Schilling will undergo season-ending surgery Monday still was tough to take.

“Nobody wants to hear those words,” closer Jonathan Papelbon said. “In this game it’s so tough for guys who have been successful for so long to let it go … That’s a tough thing to (accept) and a tough thing for something like that to sink in.”

Schilling, who was found to have shoulder trouble and a torn biceps in February, experienced a setback in his bullpen sessions last week and came back to Boston this week for further examination. It was determined that he needed surgery, which will require a recovery time of from 8 to 10 months.

Schilling yesterday acknowledged that the surgery could end his career, though he stopped short of announcing his retirement.

“He’s a great teammate,” added reliever Mike Timlin, who is team’s oldest player at 42. “(But) the older you get, you can’t go back and reinvent yourself. You can’t reinvent a new arm angle, you can’t develop different pitches — you’re stuck with what you’ve got and you have to make do.”

When spring training began, the Red Sox understood that Schilling wouldn’t be able to contribute until after the All-Star break — if at all.

Until last month, Schilling was forbidden to even throw a ball. But early this month, after some long-toss sessions, he graduated to bullpen sessions and completed three before experiencing pain in Cincinnati last week.

“He worked hard for a couple of months, trying to strengthen his shoulder,” said general manager Theo Epstein. “When he had to really start to let it go in bullpens, he hurt and he really wasn’t able to let it go. He was examined by Dr. (Thomas) Gill (Red Sox medical director) and at this point, it seems like the best alternative is just to go ahead and let him have surgery, that this path was not going to let him get back on the mound for us this year.”

Terry Francona, who first managed Schilling in Philadelphia, said that because the Sox knew about the pitcher’s physical hurdles, “(the season-ending surgery was) not such a shock. We’ve been trying to fight this since January.”

“We weren’t banking on a full season from him,” added Epstein. “We had originally approached him about sort of a half-season or a third-season plan and that wasn’t something he was interested in. He thought he was capable of pitching a whole season. As it turns out, we didn’t get anything from him."

Instead, the team got four wins from veteran Bartolo Colon — now on the DL himself with back spasms — and another four from rookie Justin Masterson.

“It’s just another man down and another guy has to step up,” Papelbon said. “We’re going to need to keep chugging along. There’s a reason why we’re still in first place, and that’s because of the guys who have stepped up.”

Many Red Sox players said Schilling’s absence will probably be felt most in the postseason, where Schilling owned a career record of 11-2.

“That speaks for itself,” Papelbon said. “That speaks volumes of what he can do in the postseason. We could have definitely used him come October. We need to have another pitcher step … up.”

jmcdonal@projo.com