Chargers center Nick Hardwick had surgery on his injured foot last week, and he says the injury was compounded by an incorrect diagnosis that led him to keep playing after he hurt his foot in 2007.

“It was misdiagnosed during the season,” Hardwick tells the San Diego Union-Tribune. “I was told it was a minor tweak.”

Hardwick, who missed four games in the middle of the season, returned to start the last six games of the regular season and all three of the Chargers’ playoff games.

“I did what I had to do to get through games,” Hardwick said. “I knew something was wrong. I’m lucky after the 10 weeks it [wasn’t worse].”

Hardwick says it isn’t clear how long it will take for him to make a full recovery — he might be ready for training camp, or he might miss the start of the regular season.

“I think I’ll be ready to go by the season,” Hardwick said. “If not, I’ll definitely be there when it starts getting interesting.”

Training camp could be very interesting for the Chargers. In addition to Hardwick, three other offensive starters — tight end Antonio Gates, quarterback Philip Rivers and fullback Andrew Pinnock — are all recovering from injuries that may not be fully healed by the start of training camp.