According to a league source, the defensive lineman underwent arthroscopic surgery to “clean out’’ his knee last week and take care of a lingering meniscus injury. He’s expected to be shelved for 2-4 weeks.

The source said the club wanted him at his most effective for the stretch drive. By having the procedure done during the bye week, he gave himself an extra week of recovery time. The possibility exists that he’ll return against the Colts in Indianapolis a week from Sunday, though it’s unlikely he’ll be available for this week’s game against the Dolphins.

Green was seen walking through the locker room yesterday, and confirmed he underwent surgery, but declined to give any detail. He walked without crutches or a discernible limp.

“It’s tough losing any player on the defense, but we’re going to let Jarvis handle his business and we’re going to take care of what we can on the field,’’ defensive lineman Mike Wright said.

Green emerged as a starter in the wake of the Richard Seymour trade the first week of September. His role, in seven starts, has changed from when he was primarily a situational pass rusher, and he has yet to register a sack this year but has been in on 17 tackles.

Without Green, Wright could find himself stepping in on the right side. Wright said he is prepared to be used wherever he is needed.

“I’ve been playing a little bit more this year . . . since Seymour is gone and Jarvis is over there, so I’m kind of backing up Jarvis a little bit more over there,’’ Wright said. “It’s been good. I’ve been getting a lot of reps over there in games and it’s been helping me out, so I’ve been a lot more comfortable over there.’’

Wright is in his fifth season with the Patriots and is tied for the team lead in sacks with four.

Green is in the final season of a five-year deal he signed prior to the 2005 season.

“To be honest, you really want one more day off,’’ running back Kevin Faulk said with a laugh.

The Patriots return to work this week, ready to prepare for the Dolphins.

Even though there is a yearning for one more day, Faulk said, “At the same time, we know that we have nine regular-season games left and these nine games are going to be real tough for us. So we just relax, come back, and have a lot of energy.’’

Of those nine games, five are on the road. The road has been a challenge for the Patriots this season, with the win against Tampa Bay in London their only road win so far.

“We’re not too good on the road this year and I think that’s something that Bill [ Belichick] has been stressing with us this year,’’ Faulk said. “We have to do it. If we want to beat the good teams, we have to beat them on the road.’’

But finding that winning combination isn’t always easy.

“I wish it was something we had the answer to because it would have been fixed a long time ago, but, at the same time, it’s just about continuing on plan,’’ Faulk said.

“You can discuss it, talk about it and how much you made mistakes in this game and that game, but it’s just about fixing it and doing it.’’

Myers is a rookie out of Utah State who was signed as a free agent in April by the Jets. He was waived prior to training camp and then signed by the Eagles in August, before being waived after two weeks.

Myers, who is 6 feet 4 inches, 240 pounds, said he was living in Houston after his release from Philadelphia. Prior to this week, he had worked out for Cleveland and Green Bay, and on Monday he worked out for the Patriots.

“I’ve just been working out by myself, all that stuff,’’ Myers said. “I had a couple of tryouts, so it’s finally nice to be somewhere.’’

Agnone said he dislocated his shoulder in the final practice last week.

Adam Kilgore of the Globe staff contributed to this report.