MONTREAL — Aaron Boone is finally willing to admit publicly that he has a partially torn ligament in his left knee. But the Reds third baseman isn't ready to acknowledge whether he needs season-ending surgery.

        Boone wants to continue working out for a few more days, perhaps as much as a week, to see if he can rehabilitate himself back into playing shape.

        If he can't, he'll undergo reconstructive surgery on the anterior cruciate ligament, which he injured July 5 in St.Louis. That would require a recovery period of about six months.

        Team physician Dr. Tim Kremchek said Friday that Boone, 27, could be ready by “close to the start of spring training” if he has surgery in the next few weeks.

        Boone, who has been working out extensively before games, sounded as if he would prefer to avoid surgery.

        “I'm trying not to have my sights set on it,” he said. “The amazing thing about it is literally every day I notice improvement and I'm able to do more things. It kind of confuses me.”

        But he has begun to realize surgery's long-term benefits.

        “One of the understandings that I have about this surgery is, once you have it, it's a speed bump time-wise, but you get over it,” said Boone, who was one of the team's most valuable players before he was sidelined. “I've come to terms with that, in a way. (Rehabilitating for) four, six, eight months — it's not like a pitcher repairing his elbow or shoulder.”

        Boone said he'll base his decision on if he can “play the way I play — which in a way is a little bit reckless — without being hindered in any way. That, coupled with the belief that I'm not going to continue to hurt it.”

        Boone aggravated the injury July 9 when he tried to field a high chopper.

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