" The two-inch surgical scar just above Jonathan Stewart's left heel looks tiny considering the pain and risk he endured last season.

That small area of his 5-foot-10, 235-pound body was a constant nuisance and potential season-ending threat because of a bone spur pressing into his Achilles tendon near its insertion to his heel. He said he also had bursitis and tendonitis.

"I literally thought I was going to be playing six games and then have to get surgery. That was some of the talk (between) me and the trainers," Stewart said this week in his first in-depth interview about the injury that caused him to miss the entire 2009 preseason and to sit out at least one practice per week during the regular season.

"But we were able to work through it and we found ways of getting around missing games," said Stewart, who ran for a team-high 1,133 yards and joined with DeAngelo Williams to form the first pair of teammates in NFL history to eclipse 1,100 yards rushing in the same season.

All along, though, the plan was for Stewart to undergo surgery, either after the season or once the injury became too severe to continue. He played with the constant reminder of defensive tackle Maake Kemoeatu rupturing his Achilles in training camp.

"I was anxious to get it done," Stewart said of the surgery. "The pain was just annoying, and I needed to get it done. It was getting to that point where it could have been like Kemo's status - not necessarily my whole Achilles popping, but there was so much erosion going on."

Stewart hopes he'll have a much more pain-free season this year after his Jan. 20 operation by team orthopedist Dr. Robert Anderson, widely considered the nation's top foot surgeon for professional athletes.

Stewart, a 2008 first-round draft pick, said Anderson shaved away excess calcium deposits and cleaned out his bursa sacs during the procedure.

He was not allowed to put weight on his left foot for a month and used a special motor scooter instead of crutches to stay mobile for a visit to Miami during Super Bowl week. He said he wore a walking boot during the second month after the surgery and now can wear regular shoes.

He said he expects to be released to run in June and should be ready for the start of training camp in late July. But he'll miss the Panthers post-draft minicamp and summer school practices for the third consecutive year. As a rookie in 2008, he was recovering from toe surgery and last year he had the Achilles problem."