NEW ORLEANS — Marques Colston, the New Orleans Saints' top receiver during the past two seasons, had surgery on his left thumb and will miss four to six weeks.

A person with direct knowledge of the injury told The Associated Press on this morning that Colston had a torn ligament resulting from a play on Sunday in which the receiver reached forward in an attempt to make a catch while taking a helmet-first hit to his hands.

The person did not want to be identified because the Saints' official injury report had not been released.

Colston tried to continue playing with the injury during the Saints' 24-20 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but wound up finishing the game with only three catches for 26 yards.

The injury was first reported on FOXSports.com.

Colston was a seventh-round draft choice out of Hofstra in 2006. At 6-foot-5, 225 pounds, he provides quarterback Drew Brees a big target and emerged as one of Brees' favorite receivers during his rookie year. Colston went on to compile 2,241 yards receiving for 19 touchdowns in his first two seasons.

His 168 catches are more than any NFL receiver has ever had through only two seasons. During the summer, Colston agreed to a three-year extension that could keep him in New Orleans through the 2011 season.