INDIANAPOLIS -- Colts coach Tony Dungy confirmed Monday, after nearly two months of deflecting questions, that quarterback Peyton Manning actually had two surgical procedures on his left knee before returning to the field in late August.
Dungy does not believe Manning's second knee surgery was the reason the team had a sluggish start this season.
Manning was not available in the locker room on Monday, a day after the Colts routed Baltimore 31-3, in what was easily his best game of the season. Manning typically does interviews only on Wednesdays and after games.
The two-time league MVP has repeatedly said he continues to rehabilitate the knee, in which he had an infected bursa sac removed in mid-July. Manning missed all of training camp, all of the Colts' five preseason games and did not return to practice until Aug. 26. He didn't look like himself until Sunday, when he threw for 271 yards and three touchdowns and had his highest quarterback rating of the season (134.7).
After the game, Manning said because of the extended absence, he felt like he was playing his first regular-season game.
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press
