Louis Delmas had surgery on his left knee Tuesday, but the Detroit Lions expect the safety to be ready to go in the team's regular-season opener against the St. Louis Rams.
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"As soon as he is able to get out and go and keep it from getting sore then he'll be back," coach Jim Schwartztold the Detroit Free Press on Wednesday. "The reason he ended up getting it done was an effort to get back on the field."
The Lions secondary is counting on Delmas.
Last season, after suffering an injury to his right knee on Thanksgiving against the Green Bay Packers that required surgery, the Lions gave up 337 yards per game in passing in his absence. Delmas returned for the Lions' NFC Wild Card Game loss to the New Orleans Saints.
Lions vice president of communications Bill Keenist announced in a statement on the team's official website that Delmas had a surgical procedure done by Dr. James Andrews to assist the safety's recovery from knee soreness, which began early in training camp.
Dr. Andrew's also performed arthroscopic knee surgery on Cleveland Browns running back Trent Richardson on Thursday.
John Wendling is expected to start at the safety position in the Lions' preseason opener against the Browns on Friday.
Delmas, a three-year veteran, recorded 51 tackles and five passes defensed in 11 regular-season starts for the Lions last season.