Cowboys RB Lance Dunbar will have season-ending surgery for torn left ACL

IRVING, Texas _ Dallas Cowboys running back Lance Dunbar could have surgery as early as this week to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, coach Jason Garrett said Monday.tmpplchld A magnetic resonance imaging test Monday confirmed Dunbar’s torn ACL. Dunbar was injured returning the opening kickoff of the second half Sunday night at New Orleans. Dunbar’s left leg buckled underneath him and twisted as he fell to the ground. He will be placed on season-ending injured reserve.tmpplchld The Cowboys waived defensive tackle Ken Bishop and linebacker Keith Smith on Monday, opening up two roster spots. When the club officially places Dunbar on IR, a third roster spot will be available.tmpplchld The Cowboys need two roster spots to activate Pro Bowl defensive end Greg Hardy and middle linebacker Rolando McClain. The two players were suspended the first four games and will start practicing with the team Wednesday.tmpplchld The loss of Dunbar is significant because his role had expanded in the offense. Going into the game against the Saints, Dunbar led the Cowboys with 21 catches for 215 yards.tmpplchld “He just shows how versatile and productive a player can be,” Garrett said Monday. “He’s one of those guys who does a lot of positive things for your team. He’s a hell of a kid and he’s got a great future ahead of him. He’s going to come back. He’s going to handle it the right way. He’ll be better than ever.”tmpplchld The Cowboys will move on with the three running backs still on the roster: Joseph Randle, Darren McFadden and recent addition Christine Michael.tmpplchld Michael is a short-yardage back who was active for the first time Sunday against the Saints. He had only one carry for minus-1 yard.tmpplchld The Cowboys don’t have another tailback who is as elusive in space as Dunbar.tmpplchld “Lance was a weapon for us and we tried to use him as a weapon in a lot of different ways to impact our offense and impact the game,” Garrett said. “To say we have someone in house who is going to do those same kinds of things, I don’t know that we have somebody like that, but we have guys in house who can do different things and hopefully we’ll play to those strengths.”tmpplchld ___tmpplchld (c)2015 The Dallas Morning Newstmpplchld Visit The Dallas Morning News at www.dallasnews.comtmpplchld Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.tmpplchld