Tom Brady says knee surgery rehab going well

New England Patriots QB Tom Brady said that his recovery from knee surgery is going well, though he declined to give a timetable for his return.  Brady was injured in the Pats first game of the 2008 season and didn’t play again after knee surgery in October.  He spoke to Toronto sports radio station Fan 590 on Wednesday and addressed his injury and the aftermath at length in a wide ranging interview.

Generally, Brady sounded upbeat and optimistic despite the slow recovery and several post surgery procedures to deal with infection.  He said that injuries were a part of the game, and that recovery from surgery was an “ongoing process”:

"Anyone who's come back from injuries that require surgery, it's just a process. There's some good days, some bad days, and you just got to keep plugging through them. That's life."

Asked about the timetable for his return, Brady instead gave a long winded response that provided no answer whatsoever:

"I'm in a new part of my career, and I'm excited about rehabilitation and different challenges. The tough part is you're not experiencing something you love to do. But you get over that and you focus on what you've got to focus on and you just say 'OK, well, it happened. We're moving on.'"

With no assurances that he’ll be ready to play when the 2009 season gets underway,  Brady said that he’s just trying to stay focused and positive:

"Like I said, things come up and you just got to focus your energy and attention on all the positive things that you can gain. It tests you in a lot of ways."

Brady was also asked about the changes in the Pats coaching staff, with several key assistants moving on to take head coaching positions elsewhere:

"There's change every year and you have to get used to it. As long as we have (team owners) Robert and Jonathan Kraft and as long as we have coach Belichick we'll be just fine.”

After Brady’s injury, backup Sam Cassell took over the starting gig and played well.  The Patriots are considering putting the “franchise tag” on Cassell if it appears that Brady will not be ready to play next season.