Montreal Canadiens defenceman Shea Weber plans to take his time as he works to recover from off-season knee surgery.

Weber underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee on June 19 and was given a five-to-six month timeline for return. Speaking Monday, Weber said a December return likely remains in the cards.

"I hope to return earlier, but if it's another four months, it's another four months," Weber told NHL.com at the Canadiens' annual golf tournament. "I've got to do what's right for myself long term. For me to come back too soon and get hurt again, that doesn't help anybody."

The 33-year-old was limited to just 26 games last season due to a foot injury. He last played in December and was officially shut down for the season in February. He said in March he expected to be healthy for training camp, but the need for knee surgery was discovered while rehabbing his foot.

"I thought I'd be ready for training camp and suddenly you get told you'll be out 5-6 months," Weber said. "It's a hard emotion to describe. There was a lot going through my head. When you think you are going to be out short term and you wake up to find out it's long term, it was tough at first trying to wrap my head around everything and be more positive about getting back to health."

Watching for the press box is new for Weber, who missed just 23 games over the previous nine seasons, never missing more than four in a season. He said Monday he plans to stay close to the team over the next few months until he's healthy enough to return.

"But I'm as eager to get back as I've ever been now and plan on being around the team as much as I can, even though I'm still going to be out a few months," he said. "I'm just going to try to be there and try to help out as much as I can. I want to be around as much as possible without hampering my recovery. When you're injured and you're not around the team, you kind of feel disconnected."

Weber, who was acquired in 2016 from the Nashville Predators for P.K. Subban, has eight years remaining on his contract at a $7.8 million cap hit.

He had six goals and 16 points in those 26 games last season, posting a career-worst minus-8 rating.