QB Tom Brady tore three ligaments in his left knee during the Patriots' 2008 season opener and needed surgery. (Stephan Savoia / Associated Press)

The doctor who performed knee surgery on Tom Brady last fall told the Los Angeles Times that the Patriots’ QB has exceeded his expectations in terms of how quickly he has been able to rehabilitate.

Dr. Neal ElAttrache, also the team doctor for Major League Baseball’s Los Angeles Dodgers, spoke to the Times with Brady’s permission:

“With regard to his recovery of strength, I’ve never seen anything quite like it,” said ElAttrache, an orthopedic surgeon specializing in sports medicine at the Kerlan-Jobe Clinic in Los Angeles. “With an average person, it would have taken probably twice as long to get range of motion and strength back.”

Brady tore three ligaments in his left knee during the Patriots’ 2008 season opener in September and returned to practice last week for the first time since suffering the injury. Brady owns a home in Los Angeles and told the Times that he chose to have surgery in the city where he spends most of his free time:

“I chose Neal because that was my decision. There are great doctors all over the world, and Neal was right for me. My father always told me tall trees experience high winds, and I think Neal is a person that, when you’re at the top of your profession you can weather a lot of those storms. I think his true colors really shined through.”