Terrell Owens is recovering from left knee surgery and plans to be ready to play when the NFL season starts, his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, said Tuesday.
Rosenhaus confirmed in an interview with ESPN that the star wide receiver tore his anterior cruciate ligament and had surgery in early April. However, Rosenhaus said, his client "will be playing at the start of the NFL season."
Rosenhaus called speculation that Owens, 37, was considering retirement "nonsense" and said the 15-year veteran is doing "fantastic" and could be recovered as early as August. Sources familiar with the injury told ESPN on Sunday night that Owens wouldn't return until mid- to late November at the earliest.
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Rosenhaus said Dr. James Andrews performed the surgery to the same knee in which Owens tore his meniscus late last year.
"The old injury has been repaired," Rosenhaus said. "He is many months into recovery and doing fantastic. No predictions on training camp, but he comes back fast from injuries. I won't rule him out of anything. He will be a starting receiver for someone this year."
Rosenhaus declined to say how the latest injury occurred, although one source told ESPN on Sunday night that it happened while Owens was taping a segment for his VH1 reality show, and another source said the receiver injured himself during personal workouts.
As for Owens mulling retirement, Rosenhaus said "all the retirement talk is nonsense. There's been no discussion about that, and this injury is not a big deal."
Two of Owens' former teammates also said the star wide receiver plans to return. Both players spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Tuesday because Owens hasn't publicly discussed the surgery.
Owens had 72 catches for 983 yards and nine touchdowns last season for the Cincinnati Bengals. He was placed on season-ending injured reserve Dec. 21, one day after surgery for his torn meniscus.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.