THE SIDELINES : Surgery to Sideline Reuben Mayes

Tailback Rueben Mayes will undergo surgery next week on his right Achilles tendon and will be unable to play for the New Orleans Saints the rest of the season, the club said.

Mayes first experienced pain in the heel on July 25, the day after he participated in a long run in training camp at La Crosse, Wis. He has not been in any practice since then.

“I’m disappointed, but it’s something that’s fixable,” Mayes said Wednesday.

Mayes will undergo the same surgical procedure physicians performed on his frayed left Achilles tendon after the 1986 season. In that surgery, physicians grafted fibers taken from Mayes’ thigh onto the damaged Achilles, a procedure known as augmentation. The rehabilitation process will take three to four months.