The Denver Broncos will be missing one of their star defenders for at least the next month.

DeMarcus Ware will undergo surgery on Tuesday to repair a fractured ulna suffered in Sunday's win against the Indianapolis Colts.

Coach Gary Kubiak said on Monday that Ware will be sidelined for four to five weeks.

Should Ware miss all five weeks he would be unavailable for the games with the Cincinnati Bengals, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Atlanta Falcons, San Diego Chargers and Houston Texans.

The 34-year-old pass-rushing specialist has 136.5 career sacks and is a nine-time Pro Bowler.

While Denver will miss his experience, the luxury of being able to promote Shane Ray to the starting role leaves the Broncos in better shape than other teams would be in a similar situation.

Ray scored the touchdown that sealed Denver' 34-20 win over Indianapolis with a 15-yard fumble return in the final two minutes.