Denver Broncos running back C.J. Anderson suffered a torn meniscus last week, and is expected to undergo surgery to repair the tear in his knee. While the injury won’t affect NFL betting odds, it will make the Broncos short-handed at the running back position for a while.

According to reports, the procedure will be performed by Dr. Arthur Ting in California, and could lead to Anderson missing the rest of the regular season. The Broncos however are holding out hope that he can return in time for the playoffs.

Due to the injury, which has an estimated recovery time of 8-12 weeks, the Denver Broncos will place Anderson on the injured reserve list and can be reactivated to rejoin the team after eight weeks.

Ting is a respected sports surgeon that has performed surgery on athletes like Barry Bonds.

Anderson’s in jury occurred on the last play of the first quarter in the team’s victory over the Houston Texans on Monday night. The running back cut right after an 11 yard run and stayed on the ground after he was tackled, clutching his knee. The tackle was a clean hit and there was no contact in the knee area when it buckled.

Despite the injury and the obvious pain he was in, Anderson stayed in the game and gained 84 more yards and a touchdown before exiting for good. He finished the game with 107 yards and one touchdown on 16 carries.

After the game, head coach Gary Kubiak said Anderson was selected as the team’s offensive MVP by his teammates.

Anderson iced his knees after the game, but started feeling discomfort on Tuesday, leading him to go to the team’s facilities to consult with the team’s doctors.

The Broncos medical staff made Anderson undergo an MRI, which revealed that he had the type of meniscus tear that required surgery. Anderson sought a second opinion after the team doctors told him about the tear, hoping he could rehab the injury without surgery.

He had another MRI on Wednesday in the Bay Area, which confirmed the initial diagnosis made by the Broncos’ medical staff.

Before his surgery, which was scheduled for Thursday, doctors asked Anderson to come in for one more test because it was unusual that he was walking around without discomfort or a limp.

The Broncos are going to be hoping their backup running backs pick up the slack in Anderson’s absence because he was the team’s leading rusher with 437 yards. Rookie running back Devontae Booker, who had 83 yards on 17 carries on Monday, will likely start in Anderson’s place.

Kapri Bibbs, who has mainly played on special teams so far, will likely be Booker’s backup. Bibbs spent his first two seasons in the NFL on the Denver practice squad before making the 53 man roster this year. For the season, he has four carries for 21 yards and one catch for six yards.

While he was at Utah, Booker rushed for 2,800 yards in two seasons, but he slid in the draft because of a meniscus injury. He has 51 carries this season for 244 yards. He also has nine catches for 69 yards.