Andrew Luck believes he'll be ready for 2018 season

All he has to do now is prove he can still sling a football.

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck does not believe he will need a second surgery on his right shoulder after spending the past six weeks working with a trainer in the Netherlands.

"The pain has significantly gone down and that's why I'm so optimistic", Luck said in his first public comments in more than two months. "You get really nervous and you feel quite helpless because you have zero control of what goes on, and coming to terms with having zero control was important for me". I do not feel like I need another surgery. "It feels weird, but I don't feel like I'm part of this team right now".

Andrew Luck #12 of the Indianapolis Colts warms up before the game against the Houston Texans at Lucas Oil Stadium on December 11, 2016 in Indianapolis, Indiana. He has not yet resumed throwing and insists he is confident additional surgery will not be necessary. Instead, he didn't even start throwing a football until early October.

The Netherlands is where Luck has called home for the past eight weeks.

In Luck's absence - his sixth season became a complete washout when the team placed him on the injured reserve list November 2 - the Colts bottomed out.

Chose to relocate his on-going rehab to the Netherlands after determining he "was being pulled in too many directions and it was hard for me to keep my focus on just getting better and getting better and better, and I allowed myself to become a distraction, which I did not want to be". "No medical procedures. were done over there". I think I just needed to keep it simple and that meant getting away. Luck expects to be able to take part on the team's offseason workouts barring any kind of setback.

Luck, who hadn't missed a snap during his first three seasons, will have missed 26 games over the past three seasons by the end of this season.

"It's better", Luck said. Backup Jacoby Brissett has been serviceable at best, but he's no Luck.

"He's tough, man" running back Frank Gore said. You do not feel like you are part of the team.

Receiver T.Y. Hilton added: "He's a beast, he's a monster". During his 15-minute press conference, Luck shared the doubts he's wrestled with and the reason he relocated his rehab from Indy to the Netherlands.

Even though there's on-field business to deal with, Luck's health and return remains the overriding issue.

Today, Luck is convinced patience and work will complete the recovery - points general manager Chris Ballard made when Luck went on IR.

"I've never entertained the thoughts that this is (career-ending)", he said.

Per Cody Felger, when asked about the rumors that he wants out of Indianapolis, Luck said "I was not aware of those".

"I think I allowed myself to become a distraction, which I did not want to be".

Luck hurt the shoulder in September 2015, missed the next two games then returned for four more before sitting out the last seven with a lacerated kidney.

He played last season and threw for 4,240 yards and 31 touchdowns last season. You don't feel like you can contribute. "That's how I feel today".

"There was a time probably a couple weeks into being away from here, early December, that was pretty hard for me to sort of see the positive in things". I'm not 100 percent.