Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Dennis Dixon underwent surgery this morning to repair torn meniscus in his left knee.

The surgery was expected to sideline Dixon for three weeks, but ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that doctors have changed the recovery timetable, and that Dixon will now miss closer to six weeks.

Under either timetable, Dixon would not return in time to start another game before Ben Roethlisberger's four-game suspension for violating the league's personal conduct policy ends. The bad news for Dixon is that the longer he's sidelined, the greater the chances are that the Steelers will place him on on season-ending injured reserve.

Though no announcements have been made, Charlie Batch is expected to start this week, with Byron Leftwich, who was released and re-signed over the weekend, sufficiently recovered from a knee injury to be the top back-up.