National Football League

Jets QB Mark Sanchez to have surgery on left knee

Published Feb. 2, 2010 8:57 p.m. ET

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New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez will have surgery on his left knee and is expected to be ready in time for training camp.

The team said Tuesday that the operation, which will repair the patella ligament that holds the kneecap in place, will be performed by Jets physician Dr. Ken Montgomery and orthopedist Dr. Elliott Hershman in the next few weeks.

Sanchez, who led the Jets to the AFC title game in his rookie season, will miss some offseason workouts but general manager Mike Tannenbaum has said the quarterback would be completely healthy by the start of training camp in July if he had surgery.

The Daily News of New York first reported Sanchez's decision.

Sanchez dislocated the kneecap during fall practice before his junior season at Southern California. He has worn a brace on the knee since, but aggravated the injury against Carolina on Nov. 29.

He had both knees examined by team doctors last week and sought a second opinion from Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala., before deciding on surgery. It is expected to help prevent future tweaks to the kneecap area.

``I think everyone's on the same page,'' Tannenbaum said last week. ``It's not going to be anything major.''

Sanchez won't need any procedures on his right knee, which sustained a sprained posterior cruciate ligament against Buffalo on Dec. 3 in Toronto and caused him to miss one game. That injury will heal through rehabilitation.

After throwing 20 interceptions during the regular season, Sanchez had just two in three postseason games and fell a win short of becoming the first rookie quarterback to start in the Super Bowl.

He also joined Baltimore's Joe Flacco as the only rookie quarterbacks to win two playoff games.

The fifth overall pick last year out of USC, Sanchez finished the regular season throwing for 2,444 yards and 12 touchdowns, but had a dismal 63.0 quarterback rating. He took much better care of the ball down the stretch and finished the playoffs going 41 of 68 for 539 yards with four touchdowns and a 92.7 rating.

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