Saints wide receiver Robert Meachem had surgery Monday to fix torn cartilage on the second toe of his left foot, and coach Sean Paytontold NewOrleans.com that he hopes the 2007 first-round draft pick can return "by the first week or so" of training camp in late July.
"It's good that we caught it now," Payton said. "It began bothering him again and became aggravated the more he started running on it. So we just felt let's go ahead and get it fixed now."
Meachem injured the toe last season, according to Payton, and the receiver still felt pain during the Saints' offseason workout program. However, Meachem said Saturday that "it's just a nick."
Meachem's NFL career started slowly -- he missed his rookie season in 2007 because of a knee injury -- but he broke out in 2009 with 45 receptions for 722 yards and nine touchdowns.