ASHBURN, Virginia, Sept 24, 2008 (AFP) - Washington Redskins defensive end Jason Taylor's ironman streak of 133 straight National Football League games will end after a calf injury proved far more serious than he first thought.

Taylor, who last sat out a game on December 19, 1999, said the injury could have ended his career had he not had emergency surgery.

The 34-year-old was hurt in the second quarter of a 24-17 victory over Arizona on Sunday, when he was kicked in the left calf.

He played on, and said he didn't think the injury was very serious until pain and numbness set in later in the night.

He went to hospital, where a mass of blood near his ankle was diagnosed as compartmental syndrome.

On Monday, doctors operated on Taylor, cutting a six-inch incision to drain a mass of blood near his ankle.

Taylor said they told him that had he not had the procedure, he could have suffered nerve damage, paralysis, limb loss or death.

'It was obviously more serious than I thought it was,' Taylor said. 'I kind of blew it off as just a bruise and it ended up getting worse. I did finish the game with it, but I didn't play very effectively. It was hurting.'

'It's getting better,' he said. 'I'm taking it a day at a time. This is all kind of new territory for me - missing a game. It has been a long time and I'm not real comfortable with it.'