Berea, OH – Cleveland Browns guard Shawn Lauvao underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left ankle Friday and is expected to miss the first 2-to-3 games of the upcoming regular season.
The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported that Lauvao will be sidelined for approximately six weeks, making the Browns' Week 3 matchup at Minnesota on September 22 the best case possibility for a return.
"He'll miss some time early in the season, but I don't have any definitive dates and times on that," said Cleveland head coach Rob Chudzinski. "We'll just have to see how that goes from the results of the scope and how he'll progress over the next few weeks."
Lauvao had started every game at right guard for the Browns over the past two seasons. His absence locks in Jason Pinkston, now over a career-threatening blood clot in his lung that caused him to sit out the final 10 games of the 2012 campaign, as the team's regular at that spot provided he stays healthy.
John Greco, who took over at left guard after Pinkston was placed on injured reserve, will remain at that post when Cleveland kicks off the regular season at home against Miami on September 8.
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