The club is hoping to have the dual Brownlow Medal winner available for a Round 3 start to his campaign against bitter rivals Essendon.
Judd has been diagnosed with tendinitis after suffering pain in his Achilles for the past fortnight, with the Blues deciding to send him in for the operation next week in an effort to provide relief.
Carlton expect the 30-year-old to be sidelined for between six and eight weeks, ruling him out of matches against Port Adelaide and Richmond.
But Blues general manager of football operations Andrew McKay is confident Judd will not be sidelined long-term.
"Chris has been training well so far this pre-season, but he has been pulling up sore over the past week or so," McKay said.
"We feel the best course of action is to address the issue now, to ensure Chris can have maximum impact on the field when he returns."
Looking to push for the top four in 2014 after scraping into the finals last year thanks to Essendon's supplements saga penalties, Carlton will be desperate for Judd to return early in the season.