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Dallas Cowboys receiver Terry Glenn underwent arthroscopic knee surgery Thursday morning to repair damaged cartilage in his right knee.

Glenn reinjured his knee last week when he tried to return to practice for the first time since the initial surgery Aug. 1 to remove a cyst. That was a week into training camp.

"At this point, I feel that if there is a chance I could play this year, then I was willing to take the risk out of it to help my team win the ultimate trophy,'' Glenn told ESPN's Ed Werder.

The risk to which Glenn refers is the possibility that the surgery might not correct the problem and that the 33-year-old wide receiver would require microfracture surgery that would prevent him from playing in 2007 and could jeopardize his NFL career.

There was no update on the timetable that Glenn might return to his position starting opposite Terrell Owens, although Glenn told ESPN he estimates he will likely spend a minimum of four weeks rehabilitating his knee. If his recovery follows that timeframe he would miss games against Miami, Chicago, St Louis and Buffalo and possibly play October 14 when Dallas plays host to New England.

Coach Wade Phillips, whose medical updates have generally been incomplete or inaccurate, praised Glenn's determination but declined to project when he might return to the field.

"You're asking me?" Phillips said. "I don't have any feel for it as far as how long it could be or would be. We're going to save a spot for him. No doubt."

Rather than have the Cowboys' medical staff treat his knee, Glenn visited Dr. Christopher Kaeding at Ohio State Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio, where he went to college. That might be a result of a disagreement between Glenn and the team over whether this injury -- suffered last Wednesday in his first practice since undergoing the initial arthroscopic procedure on Aug. 1 -- was related to the previous problem.

While both Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and Phillips have insisted the injuries were unrelated, Glenn told ESPN last week that he was injured while making cuts and was not involved in contact with another player.

Glenn was upset that he never believed the knee healthy enough to make his return but did so feeling obligated to play in the season opener after the team allowed him to miss all of training camp. But he said he only returned to the practice field after being assured by the team's medical staff that he could not further damage the knee.

Glenn is coming off consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons with the Cowboys, his third NFL team. He also played for New England (1996-2001) and Green Bay (2002).

Information from ESPN's Ed Werder and The Associated Press was used in this report.