The Baltimore Orioles announced Monday that Rafael Palmeiro will remain at his home in Texas for an indefinite period of time to rehab his injured right knee. "It is in his and the Orioles best interests for Palmeiro to stay off the knee as much as possible to allow it to heal completely," the team said in a statement. "At the same time, remaining with the team while unable to play has created an unnecessary distraction for both Palmeiro and the ball club." According to the Orioles, both Palmeiro and interim manager Sam Perlozzo said they expect Palmeiro to return to play before the end of this season, but no timetable has been established for his return. Palmeiro is 2-for-26 with one RBI in seven games since returning from a 10-day suspension for violation of Major League Baseball's steroids policy. Palmeiro used earplugs to block out the boos cascading from the Rogers Centre crowd during a game against the Toronto Blue Jays last week. Just the fourth player in major league history with 3,000 hits and 500 homers, Palmeiro is hitting .266 with 18 home runs and 60 RBI this year. He reached the 3,000 hit milestone on July 15 at Seattle.