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In what's clearly the best indication he plans to return for the 2010 season, Brett Favre has undergone the ankle surgery he needed to return as the Vikings starting quarterback this year.

ESPN's Chris Mortensen is reporting that Favre had the required surgery Friday morning. Mortensen's report comes shortly after news of the procedure was first broken by Scout.com's (and VikingsUpdate's) John Holler.

As Holler explained earlier in the day, another patient of Dr. James Andrews (the man who examined Favre's ankle and recommended the procedure), was informed that Dr. Andrews was out of town this week and, as part of that conversation, was told that Dr. Andrews was "in Mississippi working with an old quarterback" this week to perform a procedure on a client.

Mortensen subsequently reported that Favre had surgery at the Andrews Institute in Gulf Breeze, Fla., where Favre and his agent, James "Bus" Cook were spotted by a handful of people. Dr. Andrews cleaned up scar tissue and other elements of the joint to allow Favre a better range of motion, sources told Mortensen.

A source close to Favre told ESPN the 40-year-old signal caller would likely need four-to-six weeks of rehabilitation before beginning a running program that would put him on schedule to report to training camp "either at the beginning of camp or shortly thereafter."

That jibes with previous speculation surrounding the possible procedure.

In a statement made last month after ESPN initially reported he would require surgery, Farve said: "I don't believe major surgery on the ankle would be required for me to return in 2010. I've consulted with Dr. Andrews on the phone and a relatively minor procedure could be done to improve the dexterity of the ankle and to relieve the pain."

As Holler reminded readers, Dr. Sachin Patel, an orthopedic surgeon at the Casa Colina Centers for Rehabilitation in Pomona, Calif., was a guest on the NFL Network earlier this month to discuss a potential timetable for any surgery Favre might seek to have on his injured left ankle.

Dr. Patel, conceding he hadn't seen Favre's medical records but instead working off media reports -- and Favre's statement -- suggesting the procedure would be minor, advised viewers there is a relatively standard timeline for recovery from such an operation. "The assumption is that (procedure) is a washout," Patel said. "It's an outpatient procedure typically and the recovery for it is really four to six weeks."

Patel added that it would take another month for Favre to "be aggressive on his ankle."

Assuming a six-week recovery, Favre would be able to fully test his ankle in late July. That timetable would have Favre on track to return to the Vikings in mid-August, as he did last year.

So. ... Even if he doesn't make an official announcement until showing up for training camp, the fact he's had the surgery all but guarantees what most observers have expected: Favre will return for at least on more season as the Vikings' starting quarterback.

We'll follow up as needed. But at the very least, FavreWatch 2010 cools off considerably until August.