Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett announced quarterback Tony Romo underwent back surgery on Friday and will be out for the remainder of the season. The team is optimistic Romo will be healthy enough to participate in the offseason programs, ESPN reports.
Romo underwent surgery on Friday after a treatment and an epidural injection failed to help his injured back.
"He's devastated," Garrett said on Friday, via ESPN. "He puts a lot into this. ... (Surgery) was the right decision for him, and this is the right decision for our organization. He started his road to recovery, and he'll be back sooner rather than later. ...
"(He was) talking to a lot of different people that were experts in this field. They felt like it was just the right thing to do. They felt like doing it sooner rather than later was important."
Although the team wouldn't confirm what type of surgery Romo underwent, ESPN reported sources as saying it was to repair a herniated disk in the lumbar region of his back.
Romo said earlier in the week he suffered the injury after taking a hit in the first half of Sunday's 24-23 win over Washington.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said although the team loses Romo for the season, the signal caller is expected to be healthy for organized team activities (OTAs) in the offseason.
"One of the pluses for having had it done as early as [Friday] morning is that it would really contribute to him being able to get right when it comes time for the team to be in OTAs ," Jones said on KRLD-FM, via ESPN. "The OTAs are what we call the equivalent of our spring practice, so we would anticipate him being right on time there. We'll see how it goes."
Veteran backup Kyle Orton will start on Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles. The winner of the Sunday night game will win the NFC East title and advance to the playoffs.