TweetDude, if it's a partial tear then I would rest for a few months and then start therapy. Muscle will heal pretty quickly if not used much. You will want to put your arm in a sling for most of the day to keep it immobile. I've haveminor tears and I always just rest. If it hurts when I start back Ijust take more time off. And, a surgery will require lots of rest too. Also, I've known way more guys to be less than 100% after surgery than after rest. As long as there is not a complete tear, you can heal. The body is very smart and it wants to function the best it can. When part of the body is injured you rest it and it will heal.
After you keep better, you will probably me like me and some of my bros and have to do rehab twice a week for ever. Every time I stop my rotator exercises it's only a matter of time before they start hurting again. The reason is they are very small muscles compared to your delts and pecs. So, when you are doing really heavy presses the rotators are not strong enough to hole the joint in place and you end up with strains. Continued use will elad to minor tears and then eventually full tears if not allowed to heal. Only with rotator exercises can you keep then strong enough to keep the joint stable. For some of us that is, others go through life and never have an issue.