New Orleans Saints: Despite the insistence of Dale Carter that he is sufficiently recovered from eye surgery to play this weekend, Coach Jim Haslett confirmed to ESPN.com on Wednesday that the cornerback will not see action against the Colts, and figures to be sidelined several more weeks.

Carter underwent surgery last week to repair the orbital socket of his left eye.

"As much as I'd love to have him back, I can't let him do that," said Haslett. "The guy has a (titanium) plate in there. He gets hit again before that thing heals and who knows what happens?"

The 11th-year veteran was injured in the team's Sept. 14 victory over the Houston Texans and is not projected to return before Oct. 26. There is some guarded optimism that Carter could be back on the field before then, but Haslett insisted he would err on the side of caution, and would not allow the cornerback to play until the team's medical staff clears him.

Carter had a tremendous training camp, and the former Pro Bowl performer was playing well at the time of the injury. Twelfth-year veteran Ashley Ambrose, signed during the spring as an unrestricted free agent, will continue as Carter's replacement despite coming off a subpar performance at Seattle last week.

"We've got faith in Ashley," Haslett said. "He's been there before, and he'll step up. At this point, all we can do is wait for Carter to heal up, and it is a bit of a waiting game."

New Orleans, which faces Indianapolis in the Superdome on Sunday evening, is playing without five starters on defense.