Darius Slay injury: Lions CB undergoes knee surgery

Detroit Lions second-round pick Darius Slay won't be participating in the team's rookie minicamp this week after all. That's because he had knee surgery last Friday to repair a torn meniscus.

When the Lions drafted Slay, his torn meniscus was a big topic of conversation, but the significance of the injury was downplayed by both him and the Lions. Slay said that he was told surgery wasn't necessary, and Lions general manager Martin Mayhew expected Slay to take part in this week's rookie minicamp.

Clearly, the Lions changed their mind on surgery based on what Mayhew told Tim Twentyman on Tuesday after this news came out.

I talked to Martin Mayhew about Slay. He did have minor microscopic surgery last week. The thought was to just get it behind him.

— Tim Twentyman (@ttwentyman) May 7, 2013

Lions didn't initially think Slay needed surgery but decided they wanted to put it behind him once and for all so he can move forward.

— Tim Twentyman (@ttwentyman) May 7, 2013

Honestly, I'm glad the Lions went this route rather than risk the injury lingering into training camp or possibly even the regular season. While the tear was considered minor, surgery should hopefully ensure that this won't be a problem going forward. Knee surgery is never something you want to hear about for a player, but in this case, I'd rather get it out of the way now than have it potentially be necessary in training camp.

The recovery time for surgery to repair a torn meniscus varies, but it doesn't seem like something that should keep Slay sidelined for more than six weeks or so. Dave Birkett reports that Slay could potentially be ready to return for the Lions' minicamp next month (June 11-13), so that should give you an idea of the timetable here. It would be a surprise if Slay isn't 100 percent ready for training camp at the end of July.