Sources confirmed to ESPN on Tuesday that New Orleans Saints Pro Bowl center Erik McCoy will require groin surgery that is expected to sideline him for 6-8 weeks.

Per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo: “#Saints Pro Bowl C Erik McCoy’s groin injury is expected to require surgery that would sideline him about 6-8 weeks, sources say. A significant blow to Klint Kubiak’s offense, though it’s at least not a season-ending situation.”

McCoy was injured during the first drive of the Saints 15-12 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles during Sunday’s matchup. He first went to the injury tent, then to the locker room and did not return to the game. New Orleans replaced McCoy by moving left guard Lucas Patrick to center, and placing Oli Udoh in at left guard, but the Saints went on to have their worst offensive performance and worst rushing performance of the season against the Eagles.

The loss of McCoy, a team captain and 2023 Pro Bowl selection, will be the second significant loss for the Saints’ offensive line this season.  The Saints have been without all-pro right tackle Ryan Ramczyk since the beginning of the season, who was placed on injured reserve before training camp due to significant knee issues. Saints quarterback Derek Carr said after the game: “You lose a guy like Erik, it hurts. He’s a captain, he’s a leader of our football team, so it hurts. But football, that stuff happens all the time. It’s next man up. You’ve got to be able to pick right back up and the expectation doesn’t change.”

Coach Dennis Allen added: “Nobody wants to see a Pro Bowl center go down … That’s a challenge and yet everybody in the NFL has to go with those challenges. We expect our guys to be able to go in there and perform, and I thought Lucas Patrick did a nice job going in and filling in Erik’s spot. It was a challenge but that wasn’t the difference in the game.”

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