The Lions said at the end of the regular season that wide receiver Calvin Johnson would need an operation to correct the knee problem that bothered him for much of the season and he didn’t wait long to have the surgery.
Lions General Manager Martin Mayhew said Wednesday, via Tim Twentyman of the team’s website, that Johnson had the knee surgery last week. Johnson missed a Week Five loss to the Packers because of the injury, didn’t play in the season finale against the Vikings and saw his production slip in the final weeks of the season as he dealt with the injury.
Mayhew also revealed that Johnson had surgery on his finger this week. Johnson’s had an issue with the finger even longer than the knee, although it never forced him to miss a game.
Mayhew said that Johnson is recovering nicely from both operations and there’s no indication that he’ll be compromised by either injury heading into the 2014 season. That should mean new coach Jim Caldwell has his most dangerous offensive weapon available as he tries to improve on what Jim Schwartz accomplished with the Lions.