National Football League
Sources: Bills' Manuel out 2 to 4 weeks
National Football League

Sources: Bills' Manuel out 2 to 4 weeks

Published Aug. 18, 2013 1:00 a.m. ET

Buffalo Bills rookie quarterback EJ Manuel had a successful minor surgical procedure on his left knee early Sunday morning, sources tell FOX Sports.

Manuel, who was selected 16th overall in last April’s NFL Draft, will not need crutches and is expected to return to the playing field in 2 to 4 weeks, according to the sources.

Manuel was injured during the Bills’ 20-16 win over the Vikings on Saturday.

The 6-4, 240-pound quarterback appeared to have the edge for the starting job. He had been competing with free-agent veteran Kevin Kolb.

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Bills coach Doug Marrone declined to elaborate on the exact nature of the procedure but said that Manuel will miss the remainder of the preseason. After two weeks, he will be considered day to day.

"I understand that he's not going to be here for the preseason but any time after that right now my expectation is he'll be day to day," Marrone said.

Marrone added that there's a "good chance" Manuel will be ready for the start of the season.

Kolb, who had been outplayed by Manuel in games so far, missed more than a week after twisting his left knee after he tripped on a wet mat while going between Buffalo's practice fields.

Manuel  left Friday's game at the game at the end of the third quarter and did not show any signs of injury afterward. But there was swelling in his left knee Saturday morning, and the Bills announced the injury in a statement later that afternoon.

"After the game was over, (he) felt a little bump, we checked, stability was good and really that night that's all that we were going on," Marrone said. "The next day I think is the most important thing to focus on. There was a little bit of swelling, obviously then you get a concern. Our staff obviously checked him out with an MRI, saw something, went through a minor procedure."

Manuel told Marrone that he believed the injury occurred on the QB's sixth play of the game when Manuel scrambled to his right for a five-yard gain. That play was called back on a holding penalty. Manuel finished that series, leading the Bills on a 14-play, 80-yard touchdown drive and would play two more series before leaving the game as planned.

Kolb noticed something was wrong with Manuel after that scramble.

"You can tell when you're around a guy a lot and the way he runs and the way he acts and the way he grimaces, it just looked like something was a little wrong," Kolb said. "And when he came to the sideline, he really wasn't talking to anybody that much, so I could tell something was on his mind and I just left him alone."

Information from the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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