Saints QB Drew Brees gives thumb surgery update

Sept. 19 (UPI) -- New Orleans Saints star quarterback Drew Brees said step No. 1 in his comeback is complete after undergoing successful thumb surgery.

Doctors repaired a torn ligament in Brees' right thumb he received during the Saints' Week 2 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. He was hurt when he smacked the thumb against the hand of Rams star pass-rusher Aaron Donald in the first quarter. He underwent surgery Wednesday in Los Angeles.

"Step 1 complete ... successful surgery," Brees wrote in an Instagram post. "This is my attempt at giving everybody a [thumbs up]."

The Saints said it is unclear how much time Brees will miss, but sources told NFL Network he's expected to miss six weeks.

Brees, 40, completed 35 of 48 passes for 408 yards, made two scores and threw two interceptions this season before leaving Sunday's game. The 12-time Pro Bowl selection and Super Bowl XLIV champion posted a near MVP-worthy season in 2018, completing a league-best 74.4 percent of his throws for 3,992 yards, 32 scores and five interceptions in 15 starts.

Backup quarterbacks Teddy Bridgewater and Taysom Hill will each see action in Week 3, as the Saints travel to Seattle to face the Seahawks without Brees. Bridgewater completed 17 of 30 passes for 165 yards in relief for Brees in Week 2. Hill has thrown seven career regular-season passes.

"Drew has been the heart and soul of this team for a long time," Hill told reporters Wednesday. "It was hard when he went down. I've been with him for the last few years. I know how hard he works. I know how he prepares each week. To see a guy put so much into the game and go down is a tough thing to swallow.

"I think, personally my mindset, I don't want to speak for everybody on the team, but I think the mindset is that man, we're going to do everything we can to win football games for that guy because he did so much for us. The hope is then in a few weeks he can come back and we're in a great position for him to step back in and do his thing."

The Saints and Seahawks will kick off at 4:25 p.m. EDT Sunday at CenturyLink Field in Seattle.