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Milt Stegall has often joked the only guarantees in life are death, taxes, trouble, Milt Stegall always being on time, Milt Stegall always looking good and Milt Stegall always being in shape.

On Tuesday, the 38-year-old slotback added a seventh guarantee to the list: That he won't participate in the Winnipeg Blue Bombers training camp after undergoing knee surgery May 2.

"I had a slight procedure that had to be done to my knee that's preventing me right now from being full go and going through training camp," Stegall said during a conference call. "The powers that be all decided it's best for me not to participate in training camp.

"It (operation) was basically a situation where Milt Stegall has been playing football for a long time and it caught up to him a little bit. There was no tear, I know that much."

The veteran slotback said there's no timetable for his return.

"I expect to be ready when I'm ready," he said. "No date has been given as far as when I'm going to come back.

"I'm going to be healthy when I'm healthy. We're going to try and get me back but we're not going to rush anything but we're hoping to get me back, of course, sooner rather than later."

The Bombers' rookies will begin workouts Wednesday, with veterans hitting the field for twice-daily sessions starting this weekend.

Winnipeg kicks off the 2008 season June 27 at home against the Toronto Argonauts.

Stegall announced in January he'd be back for a 14th season in Winnipeg, ending speculation he would retire following the Bombers' 23-19 Grey Cup loss to Saskatchewan.

Despite his age, Stegall still remains among the CFL's elite receivers. He had 69 catches for 1,108 yards and eight TDs in helping Winnipeg capture last year's East Division crown.

When Stegall returns to the field, he will have the CFL's career receiving yards record in his sights. Former Calgary Stampeder Allen Pitts currently holds the mark of 14,891 yards but Stegall is just 196 yards behind at 14,695.

Stegall underwent an arthroscopic knee procedure after experiencing discomfort during off-season workouts. Bombers GM Brendan Taman said Stegall will be in Winnipeg during training camp and the club will monitor his recovery and base a return date accordingly.

"This is another opportunity for us to evaluate some other people at that time," Taman said. "Milt is a pro and he knows what it takes to be here for the long haul so we'll monitor it as we go.

"He will physically be here during camp so we'll be rehabbing with him and see him around. It's not the end of the world and we're well prepared for it."

Last season, Stegall broke the CFL record for career touchdowns when he eclipsed the mark of 137 shared by George Reed and Mike Pringle. Stegall, the league's outstanding player in 2002, now has 144 career TDs and holds several other league records, including most career touchdown catches (141).

However, Stegall has never played on a Grey Cup-winning team.

"I've known about this issue for a little bit of time and have been thinking about what we would be doing and actually we're not going to change anything," Bombers head coach Doug Berry said. "We do have some good players in training camp and we're going to continue to try and get those guys ready because as you know anything can happen during the regular season.

"As much as we'd like to have Milt here participating, I'm really concerned that he's here at the beginning of the season, whenever that time is."

The Bombers also announced they've released veteran cornerback Juran Bolden. The 33-year-old Tampa native spent last season with Winnipeg — his second tour of duty with the CFL club — but didn't play in the Grey Cup due to a hamstring injury.

The six-foot-three, 210-pound Bolden was originally a fourth-round pick of the NFL's Atlanta Falcons in '96 and twice played for the team ('96-'97, 2002-'03), as well as Carolina ('98), Kansas City ('99), Jacksonville ('04) and Tampa Bay ('05-'06).