Pittsburgh ? Ben Roethlisberger is out for the second time in a month because of an injured knee. The Pittsburgh Steelers only can hope they play better without the NFL’s top-rated passer than they did during his last absence.

Roethlisberger had arthroscopic surgery Thursday to remove a damaged piece of cartilage from his right knee and will miss Sunday’s game at Green Bay and, possibly, the Nov. 13 game against Cleveland. Coach Bill Cowher said the normal recovery time was 10-to-14 days, and the quarterback’s status would be evaluated next week.

Cowher said Roethlisberger wanted to keep playing, but the Steelers (5-2) – only a half-game out of the AFC North lead – didn’t want to risk losing him for four to six weeks if the injury worsened and developed into a bone bruise. The team then decided to have the operation done immediately, and the procedure took only 15 minutes.

“He wants to play through everything,” Cowher said. “But I feel good that we did what we did and took a proactive approach to it.”

Roethlisberger initially hurt the knee during the season opener Sept. 11 against Tennessee, but didn’t miss any playing time. Later, he hyperextended his left knee during the final drive of a 24-22 comeback victory Oct. 10 in San Diego, forcing him to sit out a 23-17 overtime loss to Jacksonville in which backup Tommy Maddox had four turnovers – including a game-winning interception return touchdown.

Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger grimaces after he was injured against New England. Roethlisberger, shown Sept. 25 in Pittsburgh, will miss one game and possibly two after undergoing knee surgery Thursday.

Charlie Batch, a former Lions starter who has thrown only eight passes in four seasons, has since moved ahead of Maddox on the depth chart and will start Sunday. Batch hasn’t thrown a pass since the exhibition season and has no extensive playing time since 2001 with Detroit, though he was the Lions’ primary starter from 1998-2001.

“You try to manage the game and do exactly what you would do as if Ben was in there,” Batch said. “The offense isn’t going to change at all, we’re going to do what we do and that’s run the ball.”

Still, the Steelers might be less confident about winning at Green Bay (1-6) than they would have been with Roethlisberger. Wide receiver Hines Ward talked about going to Lambeau Field and “stealing a win,” not the normal tone for a winning team playing a losing team.

While Batch said the Steelers wanted to run the ball Sunday the way they did in rushing for 221 yards in a 27-13 victory Oct. 23 at Cincinnati in which Roethlisberger threw only 14 passes, they also expect to be without running back Jerome Bettis (quadriceps).

Bettis was downgraded from questionable to doubtful, which means Duce Staley – who hasn’t carried since the AFC championship game in January – will back up starter Willie Parker.