Browns No. 3 receiver Joe Jurevicius likely will miss the first five games of the regular season after undergoing the fourth procedure on his right knee since January, General Manager Phil Savage said Thursday.

After postseason arthroscopic surgery, Jurevicius contracted a staph infection that has required three clean-outs, the most recent June 30.

Speaking on his weekly radio show on WTAM, Savage said Jurevicius, 33, a 10-year veteran, "probably will"start the season on the physically unable to perform list.

That means he would be forced to sit out six weeks (including the Oct. 5 bye) and could not return to practice until at least Oct. 14, preceding the Oct. 19 game at the Washington Redskins. The Browns would then have a three-week window to evaluate Jurevicius. Once he started practice, the Browns would have another three weeks to determine his roster status.

"It's a situation where he's probably going to miss some training camp time," Savage told the station. "We probably won't know maybe until the end of August what his status will be in terms of going into the year and maybe even for the second half of the year."

During a 10-6 campaign in 2007, Jurevicius finished third on the team with 50 receptions, 29 on third down, which ranked third in the league. After the season he told the Browns his body could not handle the rigors of the No. 2 receiver, so Savage signed former New England Patriots receiver Donte Stallworth in free agency.

"We're obviously very concerned about Joe's situation," Savage said. "It's been very frustrating for everybody. Every time he's taken a step forward it's been two steps back."

"He had made quite a bit of progress . . . by the middle of June, he had gotten into some pretty extensive work in the training room. We felt he would be with us certainly by the first game. After we left [for vacation], the knee began to flare up again. They went back in to take a look and try to wash the knee out one more time."

"We got an update yesterday that he was doing pretty well; he was on track to continue to see if he's going to be able to give it a go."

Jurevicius, a product of Mentor Lake Catholic High School who has played in three Super Bowls, said in June that he had not considered retirement because he wanted to help lead his hometown team to that championship.

Savage said Jurevicius would be examined again before training camp begins Wednesday. The season opener is Sept. 7 at home against the Dallas Cowboys.

In his absence, Pro Bowl special teamer Joshua Cribbs, the former Kent State University quarterback, and Travis Wilson, a third-round pick in 2006, will be in the spotlight. Wilson has played in only four games and was inactive for all 16 in 2007, but he made strides during the offseason.

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