I take no enjoyment in player's being injured, btw.

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- The Green Bay Packers lost a quarterback for the season on Monday. It wasn't Brett Favre.

Aaron Rodgers

Rodgers

Backup Aaron Rodgers said he didn't know how he broke his left foot in the third quarter of Sunday's game against New England and thought he was just feeling sorry for himself because of his poor performance.

Rodgers had replaced Favre, who hurt his elbow earlier in the game, but is expected to return in time for Monday night's game at Seattle.

Rodgers' injury requires surgery, which he said will likely include placing a screw in his foot. He'll be out for the rest of the season, and the Packers are in need of another quarterback.

"I didn't want to come out of the game," Rodgers said. "I knew it was bothering me, but I still felt like I could make some plays and I wanted to be out there."

Rodgers said he told rookie Ingle Martin, the team's third quarterback, that he thought he had broken his foot and told the trainers in the fourth quarter he needed an X-ray.

But he finished the game, going 4-of-12 for 32 yards, and brushed off reporters Sunday while hobbling through the locker room with a noticeable limp. He apologized on Monday.

"After finding out I'd be out for the season, it was a tough blow to take and I didn't feel like answering any questions," Rodgers said.

Rodgers said he'll be on crutches for about six weeks, but should be able to return in time for minicamps next year.

"On a personal level, you feel terrible for him, because the first thing you think about is here's a guy who has been here since March 20, he's been here every day going through the quarterback school, getting ready to potentially be the starter for our football team," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. "He finally gets the opportunity to play and that happens to him."

Favre, starting his 251st game including playoffs, injured a nerve in his elbow after getting sacked just before halftime in the Packers' 35-0 loss.

He couldn't muster enough strength to adequately grip the football and missed completing a game for just the sixth time in his career due to an injury.

Favre was 5-of-15 for 73 yards when he left. The five completions were a career low for a start, while the 73 yards passing were his fewest since Oct. 20, 1994, when he was also forced out of a game at Minnesota with a severely bruised left hip.

McCarthy said Monday that Favre has most of the strength back in his elbow, but he wasn't ready to say the three-time MVP would practice this week.

"I think his elbow is going to be fine," the coach said. "He's been in for treatment for both the elbow and the groin and we'll re-evaluate him Wednesday, but he doesn't seem very concerned about it."

The team's doctors were comfortable with Favre's ability to return for next Monday night's game against Seattle because of the quarterback's demeanor, McCarthy said.

"He's not very worried about it, which to them is a clear indication because he's been through this so long. They trust his judgment based on their history with him," he said.

McCarthy said the team could elevate Martin, drafted in the fifth round, or look for a more experienced quarterback to back up Favre now.

"We're looking at every scenario," he said.

Rodgers, selected with the 24th pick of last year's draft, was sacked three times against the Patriots in his first extensive action since he relieved Favre last year in a 48-3 loss to Baltimore.

But Rodgers receives more repetitions in practice because Favre routinely rests during the later weeks of the season.

"I'm pretty bummed," Rodgers said. "Mentally, I think it still hasn't sunk in yet that I won't be able to do the things I used to be able to do. But it's definitely going to make me a better person, I think, and give me a greater love for the game because it's been taken away."

Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press