LOS ANGELES (AFP) — Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has successfully undergone surgery on his injured knee and begun rehab with a view to possibly returning as soon as the start of next season, a team official said Wednesday.

Mahomes tore two left knee ligaments Sunday as the Chiefs slumped to a home defeat against the Los Angeles Chargers, sealing their elimination from the postseason for the first time in a decade.

The two-time National Football League (NFL) Most Valuable Player underwent surgery in Dallas on Monday, said Rick Burkholder, Chiefs vice president of sports medicine and performance.

“Everything that he had in this injury was fixable, correctable, and it was fixed on Monday night,” said Burkholder, adding that there was no accompanying artery or nerve damage.

“He’s already started rehab down in Dallas. He was there first thing Tuesday morning, and he’ll do that through tomorrow, and then he’ll be back here Friday.”

The next NFL season is scheduled to begin on 10 September.

Burkholder said recovery for Mahomes’ injury would typically be around nine months, though it “could be a month or two less, a month or two more.”

“Every player is different, every sport is different, every position is different. And with him, traditionally, he’s going after it so hard, he’s so in tune with what he does, that he does it a little quicker,” he told reporters.

Chiefs coach Andy Reid earlier this week said he was optimistic Mahomes, 30, would make a full recovery from the first significant injury of his career.

“He’ll attack it, just like he does everything else,” Reid said of Mahomes’ rehab.

“There have been some pretty good quarterbacks who have had the same injury, and they’ve done pretty well after they came back.” 

“He’ll get after it, and he’s got good people here to rehab him. He’ll be right on top of all of that.”

In a social media post on Sunday, Mahomes vowed to return “stronger than ever.”

“Don’t know why this had to happen,” Mahomes wrote on X. 

“Not going to lie, it hurts. But all we can do now is Trust in God and attack every single day over and over again... I will be back stronger than ever.”