DENVER -- A road game against the Oakland Raiders sounds like a dream vacation for Denver Broncos running back Terrell Davis.

Davis, nearly six weeks removed from arthroscopic knee surgery, insisted Monday that he is pain free and said he plans to play next Monday when the Broncos visit the AFC West-leading Raiders.

"You can never think of a better stage than that," Davis said. "The Raiders are an excellent team right now. It's a nationally televised game. It's a game that we have to have. You look forward to big games like this."

Davis apparently is feeling much better about his future on the field than he did a week ago. Davis confirmed to the Denver Post on Monday that he contemplated retirement earlier in October because of a left leg ache that reminded him too much of a similar problem he dealt with last season.

Davis met with coach Mike Shanahan eight days ago, and Davis explained to Shanahan that he might be forced to give up the game, the Post reported. Shanahan advised Davis that, before he made any important decisions, to first have an MRI, which revealed no further damage and helped ease Davis' mind, the Post reported.

Davis, hampered by injuries since his 1998 MVP season, ran for 101 yards in Denver's season-opener Sept. 10 but has missed six games since having arthroscopic surgery on his right knee Sept. 20.

A stress fracture in his left leg forced him to miss Denver's final seven games of 2000, and he has been sidelined for 30 of 36 games since 1999.

Davis said he was ready to play Sunday against the New England Patriots.

Shanahan decided to wait another week because Davis worked primarily on the scout team leading up to the Patriots game. Though disappointed, Davis said he understood Shanahan's reasoning.

"I didn't work with the first team, and that's a big factor when you're playing in a game," he said. "You have to have chemistry with that first offense, enough to where you get enough reps to see enough looks on defense, so you don't bust plays."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.