Saints coach has knee surgery

METAIRIE, La., Oct. 17 (UPI) -- New Orleans Saints Coach Sean Payton had surgery Monday to repair a broken bone in his leg and torn cartilage suffered in a sideline collision.

Payton, 47, suffered a fracture of the left tibial plateau and a lateral meniscal tear when he was hit by New Orleans tight end Jimmy Graham early in a game Sunday at Tampa Bay.

Graham was shoved out-of-bounds after catching a pass and crashed into the coach.

Payton watched the second half of the game from the training room while offensive coordinator Pete Campbell took over play-calling duties, which are usually handled by Payton. The Saints lost 26-20.

"The surgery went very well," Saints orthopedic surgeon Dr. Deryk Jones said through the team. "We plan to keep him overnight tonight for observations and have him home tomorrow.

"I anticipate Coach Payton returning to the office sometime Wednesday or Thursday. The recovery period for this type of surgery is three to six months. I would anticipate him being able to put partial weight on it in about eight weeks."

It was unclear when Payton would be allowed to return to coaching and he may end up working some games from the coaches' box rather than the sidelines.