As one of the few Tampa Bay veterans on the team, Bucs linebacker Lavonte David is slated to play a very important role for the Buccaneers in 2019. But, on Monday, we learned the starting point of that role might be up in the air.

David missed back-to-back practices at the end of last week with what head coach Bruce Arians called “swelling.” He said that David just doesn’t like playing on turf, and due to the late night practices being in the indoor facility he was opting to rest and not participate.

Monday, however, there was no excuse to miss practice, as it was outside on the normal field. Yet David was not seen on the field or even on the sidelines.

After practice, Arians told the media that David had surgery on his knee to repair a “little meniscus tear.”

#Bucs LB Lavonte David has a slight meniscus tear in his knee and will undergo a minor surgical procedure, according to Bruce Arians. — PewterReport (@PewterReport) August 5, 2019

Arians said that, though they are going to hold him out for a while, this should not force him to miss time when the regular season begins.