Oregon running back Stewart has toe surgery

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EUGENE, Ore. -- Oregon running back Jonathan Stewart has returned to Eugene from Charlotte, N.C., where he underwent toe surgery on his right big toe Wednesday to repair a "turf toe" injury he suffered Nov. 15 at Arizona.

Recovery is expected to take four to six months, preventing Stewart from working out for scouts as scheduled at UO's second pro day and potentially hurting his stock heading into the NFL draft April 26-27.

But his agent, Ben Dogra, said the 45-minute procedure went smoothly and that Stewart would be ready for training camp in July.

He is expected by many to be a first-round draft pick.

"At the same time there's nothing you can do about it," said Stewart. "So there's no need to stress about it."

Some predict Stewart will go to Arizona at No. 16 or Houston at No. 18.

The toe was not healing on its own, so NFL general managers and scouts recommended that Stewart have the surgery now rather than risk missing training camp or games, Dorga said.

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press

This story is from ESPN.com's automated news wire. Wire index

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