<div><p>New Orleans Saints wide receiver Marques Colston had surgery to repair a torn ligament in his thumb and will miss at least a month, the National Football League team said Wednesday.</p><p>The Saints said Colston injured his left thumb during Sunday's 24-20 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.</p><p>Colston, who caught three passes for 26 yards in Sunday's win, had surgery on Tuesday.</p><p>"The surgery was to stabilize the thumb," New Orleans coach Sean Payton said. "It's going to take some time. It's going to take awhile, a few weeks. (Surgery) was definitely the best option for us and for Marques to get this done now and get it repaired the right way."</p><p>However, losing Colston is a big blow. He is coming off a record-breaking season in which he caught a franchise-best 98 passes for 1,202 yards and tied a team mark with 11 touchdowns.</p><p>A seventh-round draft selection in 2006, Colston has emerged as one of the NFL's top young targets, surpassing 1,000 receiving yards in each of his first two seasons.</p><p>His 168 career receptions are an NFL record for any player after two years in the league.</p><p>The Saints inked Colston to a three-year extension in July, keeping him under contract through 2011.</p><img src="http://admatch-syndication.mochila.com/images/ad.gif?aid=32241909&bid=informcom" /></div><div id="copyright"><div>

Copyright 2008  <a href="http://www.afp.com/english/links/?pid=copyright">AFP American Edition</a></div></div>