Maurice Jones-Drew has undergone surgery on his left foot, 10 weeks after sustaining the initial injury.
The Jacksonville Jaguars running back damaged his foot in the game against the Oakland Raiders on October 21, but only had the operation on Friday.
Coach Mike Mularkey told reporters: "We had hoped it would, as others have, heal without surgery, and it didn't.
"Hopefully back by May, late May, early June. If it's May, we're not going to miss a lot. I don't think it's significant that we're doing it now. We all felt like he had a chance to play all the way up until this week, and really we were hoping he could.
"[The doctors] wanted to keep it healing on its own. I don't know all the medical terms. There's a lot of things going on in the foot. Something that you hoped would naturally go back didn't, so we're going to hold it in place."
The Jaguars have just two wins this season.
