Brian Urlacher Has Arthroscopic Knee Surgery

(Ed: H/T to ChiTownSupremes for the fanshot)

Brian Urlacher underwent arthroscopic debridement of his left knee, Brad Biggs is reporting in the Tribune.

An NFL source told the Tribune Urlacher underwent the procedure Tuesday, 26 days before the start of the regular season. The Bears and Urlacher have maintained all along that he will be ready to play against the Indianapolis Colts Sept. 9 at Soldier Field. It is unknown at this point if today's surgery will alter that timeline.

Well this certainly changes things. After being questioned about surgery during his mysterious personal time, Urlacher had this to say:

"No," Urlacher told Fox-32. "I am pretty sure if I got surgery we have to tell the NFL from what I understand, right? I definitely didn't get knee surgery. I was gone for personal reasons."

So that's all well and good, but it appears the team reevaluated when Brian got back. He's done some side running drills and the knee apparently hasn't been feeling much better.

Per the article, the goal is still ready for Urlacher to be ready to go for September 9th vs. the Colts. However, something that could be sticking in the back of Bears fans minds is that this is a similiar procedure to what 2nd-year tackle Gabe Carimi went through last season, after several failed attempts to rehab.

It's not good to hear that someone's having surgery, and particularly not this close to the season. Hopefully for #54 and the Bears, getting the surgery now will be better than starting up and shutting down multiple times over the course of the season.

Updates: Per Laurence Holmes of 670 the Score:

#Bears say procedure was done to "relieve the swelling" in Urlacher's left knee."

Arthroscopic knee debridement is surgical removal of damaged cartilage/bone fragments and pieces, and usually involves a washout that can help remove inflammatory enzymes, as well as help loosen any general stiffness of the join caused by the friction of the removed scar tissue.