Rajon Rondo Wants to Recover from Knee Surgery Better Than Adrian Peterson


The Boston Celtics announced today that Rajon Rondo underwent successful surgery to repair his torn right ACL. (It was also confirmed that Leandro Barbosa’s season is, indeed, over.) According to GM Danny Ainge, Rondo has big aims for his return to the court. Historic ones, in fact. Per the Boston Herald: “Rondo chose Dr. James Andrews for the procedure in part because of the world-renowned surgeon’s success with Adrian Peterson, the Minnesota Vikings running back who had surgery on Jan. 13, 2012, and played in the Vikings season opener last September. Peterson was named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player and Offensive Player of the Year earlier this month. Little wonder that Rondo wants to be that guy. Ainge said he expects Rondo to be ‘ready to roll’ by the start of training camp. ‘He wants to have a better recovery than Adrian Peterson,’ said Ainge. ‘You know how competitive he is. (Andrews’) success with Adrian Peterson definitely drew Rondo’s interest. That’s something that Rajon said to me.’ The good news about the surgery, according to Ainge, is that the partial tear was ‘clean,’ without any other damage in the knee. Rondo was able to undergo the procedure quickly because of the lack of swelling in the knee – a stark difference from what Leandro Barbosa faces. Barbosa, who tore the ACL in his right knee during Monday’s loss to the Bobcats, also strained his MCL, which has caused swelling. As a result, Barbosa won’t be able to have surgery for an estimated four weeks. Andrews repaired the ligament by using a piece from the patella tendon – a procedure that Andrews has become famous for. The orthopedic surgeon performed a more involved procedure on Robert Griffin III, the Washington Redskins quarterback, last month.”