Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo continues to explore options on who will perform surgery on the torn ACL he suffered Jan. 25 and how the procedure will be done, president of basketball operations Danny Ainge told ESPNBoston.com's Jackie MacMullan on Friday.
Ainge said he hoped Rondo would have had surgery this past week but now expects it to take place "within the next week."
Rondo is seeking additional opinions from Dr. James Andrews, who repaired Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson's torn ACL, and renowned Vail, Colo., surgeon Dr. Richard Steadman. In addition, Celtics team physician Dr. Brian McKeon, who performed knee surgeries on Kevin Garnett, Kendrick Perkins and Tony Allen, also has consulted with the point guard and could perform the surgery.
Rondo's agent, Bill Duffy, told CSNNE.com earlier this week that the injury is a partial tear of the ACL. The All-Star point guard will miss the remainder of this season, but the Celtics continue to say he'll be ready by training camp in the fall.
Ainge said that there are a variety of ways to treat the injury and that Rondo is sorting through his options.
"One doctor will tell you, 'You need to use the patella tendon,' and another will say, 'Basketball players who use the patella will have tendinitis when they come back,'" Ainge said. "And another doctor will say, 'When we get in there, we'll be able to see if we can attach the hamstring, and sometimes intertwine that with a cadaver tendon.' There's a lot of different methods, and I think Rajon is just trying to figure out which is best for him."
Rondo was hurt late in a double-overtime loss to the Atlanta Hawks last month. The Celtics are 6-0 without him.
Ainge says the point guard remains in the Boston area watching the games from home and staying in contact with the team. Ainge acknowledged it would be close to impossible for Rondo to have missed all the discussion of the Celtics' success in his absence, but added, "I don't think he pays a ton of attention to it.
"He's not one of those guys who reads a lot. I do think he sees the team winning and playing really well. Rondo is a terrific talent. So the question is, 'Is Rondo doing this, or are we allowing Rondo to do this?' Are we as players, as coaches, as management, relying on him too much?' "
Information from ESPNBoston.com's Jackie MacMullan was used in this report.