Updated: August 14, 2012, 11:21 AM ET
ESPNChicago.comChicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher underwent an arthroscopic debridement procedure on his left knee Tuesday, according to the team's official Twitter account.
“
” -- Brian Urlacher
(The knee is) probably going to be (an issue all season long). I don't see it getting any better during the season. We have to manage it, my reps in practice, and then get through Sunday.
to FOX Chicago
The goal remains for Urlacher to be ready for the Sept. 9 regular-season opener, according to the tweet.
Urlacher sprained the medial collateral and posterior cruciate ligaments in his left knee during the Bears' 2011 regular-season finale in Minnesota when safety Major Wright collided with him going for an interception in the end zone.
Urlacher missed all of the offseason workouts but consistently maintained he would be 100 percent for training camp. But after participating in the first several practices, the knee began to swell and the 34-year-old linebacker hasn't practiced since. While some absences from practice were due to what were described as personal reasons, it's obvious the knee issues aren't going away.
"It's probably going to be (an issue all season long)," Urlacher told Fox Chicago. "I don't see it getting any better during the season. We have to manage it, my reps in practice, and then get through Sunday."
Urlacher told Fox that he had not undergone a procedure as of Monday night and gave no indication one was imminent.
Urlacher didn't attend the Bears' preseason-opening loss to the Denver Broncos for personal reasons.
| It's an important season for Urlacher, who's entering the last year of his contract. Bears management has said there won't be any negotiations during the season, and while Urlacher said he wants to remain with the team that drafted him in 2000, he's ready to see what's available via free agency.
In that context, Urlacher was asked about taking care of his knee versus trying to prove he's healthy.
"It is hard, but there is a fine line between pushing it and kind of easing into it, which is what I need to do," Urlacher said. "I just have to get back out there for (the Sept. 9 regular-season opener). Even if I just practice the week before, I'll be in good enough shape to make it through those games. But I have to be out there when the games count."
Urlacher admitted that practicing early in camp may have negatively affected his knee.
"Being out there for 2½, 3 hours probably didn't help, and running around," he said. "But it's practice, you gotta do it.
"I think just the shock of being out there so long and doing so many movements like that was too much for my knee."
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