METAIRIE, La. -- Terron Armstead said he has been to Germany and all over the United States over the past couple of years, trying to solve his frustrating battle with hip, knee and shoulder injuries.

But the New Orleans Saints' standout left tackle hasn’t lost faith that he’s finally due for a healthy season in 2018.

“This offseason, it will be 100 percent. This offseason will be the time I get completely healthy,” said Armstead, who said he doesn’t think he’ll need any surgery -- but who plans to be aggressive with his rehab.

“I’ve been all over the country, I’ve been out of the country trying to get healthy these past few years. I’ve met some of the best doctors in the world, best therapists and trainers in the world,” Armstead said. “I feel like I’ve met one or two people that [will help me] be 100 percent this offseason.”

Armstead, 26, has missed a total of 18 games over the past three years, including six games this season, because of various ailments. But he has repeatedly proved his worth by playing hurt in countless other games -- often through a great deal of pain and often at a high level.

He suggested on Twitter after the Saints’ devastating playoff loss at Minnesota that he was playing with his hip flexor “ripped.”

When asked about that tweet on Tuesday, Armstead said, “I won’t go into specifics, but my hip is pretty jacked up along with some other things. But nothing I’ve been dealing with isn’t fixable or isn’t reversible, so no permanent damage.”

Later, he added when he was talking about the hip that he “tore some stuff in there.”

Armstead said the specialist he saw in Germany helped him with some inflammation and cartilage issues in his knees, which were a problem in previous years but felt a lot better this year. The hip/thigh/quad issue has been his biggest nemesis in recent years. And on top of everything else, he suffered a torn labrum in his shoulder during summer minicamp, which forced him to miss all of training camp and the first four games of the season.

When he did start 12 games in the regular season and playoffs, though, he was a big part of the Saints’ offensive success. (They finished first in the NFL in both yards per rush and yards per pass attempt.)

And the respect that Armstead has earned from teammates and coaches is evident.

“He loves playing. It’s extremely, extremely important to him,” said Saints coach Sean Payton, who commended Armstead’s rehab work in the offseason. “And I think ultimately that respect of the locker room is important to every player -- and clearly he’d be one of our leaders in that area."

Armstead was a third-round draft pick out of Arkansas-Pine Bluff in 2013 who wowed scouts with his combination of size and athleticism. His time of 4.71 seconds at the NFL scouting combine is still the fastest ever by an offensive lineman.

He has continued to show that rare combination of power and athleticism throughout his five-year career -- becoming a starter toward the end of his rookie year and signing a lucrative, five-year extension worth $65 million in 2016.

There are many reasons to be optimistic about the Saints in 2018 after they had a breakout year with a young roster and managed to survive the loss of 10 starters to injured reserve.

A (finally) healthy Armstead would be as big as any of them.