EUGENE — Oregon senior safety John Boyett, a preseason All-America candidate, confirmed to his hometown paper Sunday that he will have surgery on both of his knees this week, effectively ending his season and his career with the Ducks.

“I’ve had a lingering injury that I played through all last year," Boyett said in a prepared statement published on the

. "The hope was, through different treatments and certain types of rehab during this past offseason, they would heal up and I’d be ready to go for my senior year. But unfortunately, it didn’t work out as planned. I’ve been dealing with a tremendous amount of pain for a long time.

"At this time, I’m not able to play up to this level that I want to. Five different specialists from around the country have reviewed my MRIs and at this time surgery is needed. The operation is scheduled for Wednesday and the rehab process to get back to 100 percent is approximately six months."

Boyett had an interception in Oregon's season-opening victory over Arkansas State, but he did not play Saturday in the Ducks' victory over Fresno State. Sources told The Oregonian on Saturday that

Oregon staffers had tried to convince Boyett to have the surgery in the offseason, but he chose other rehab options instead, a source said. Boyett, who redshirted in 2008, could qualify for a medical hardship from the NCAA, but he would seem unlikely to be granted a sixth-year of eligibility.

Besides, Boyett is having the operation done now to preserve his chance at the NFL next spring, a source said.

Boyett, in his fourth season as a starter and Oregon's leading tackler in 2009 and 2011, said he will have surgery Wednesday to repair partial tears of both patellar tendons. Dr. Neal ElAttrache, the head physician for the Los Angeles Dodgers, will perform the surgery. ElAttrache performed knee surgery on New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady in 2008.

"It’s a very difficult decision," Boyett said in the prepared statement. "I have tremendous teammates and made many friends at the university. I’ve grown tremendously as a player and as a person, working under my great defensive back coach, Coach John Neal and the defensive coordinator, Nick Aliotti, who recruited me to the University of Oregon.”

Boyett had 108 tackles to lead the Ducks last season, earning honorable mention All-America honors from one publication. He tied a Rose Bowl record with 17 tackles (12 solo) in Oregon's victory over Wisconsin last January.

He entered this season on the watch lists for several of the top awards given to defensive players.

Since taking over as the Ducks' starting free safety as a redshirt freshman in 2009, Boyett has started more games (36) than anyone on the UO defense, with 40 appearances overall. He ends his Oregon career with 278 tackles, 10 interceptions (one returned for a touchdown) and two blocked field goals.

"I’m trying to stay strong," Boyett said. "It can all be fixed and I can be back to 100 percent."

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