Maurice Jones-Drew has said that he should have had an operation to repair his foot injury sooner.
The Jacksonville Jaguars running back underwent surgery last week, 10 weeks after injuring his foot.
The 27-year-old told the Florida Times-Union: "I should have had it a little earlier than when I did, but it's just something that you learn from. You've just got to keep going."
The Jags have released no further details on the nature of the injury.
Jones-Drew is expected to be out of action until May.