Mike Reiss reports that Patriots left guard Logan Mankins underwent ACL surgery immediately after the Super Bowl and he looks to return before training camp. Mankins supposedly played through the ACL injury without realizing the severity of the situation and gritted it out for the playoffs and Super Bowl.
Mankins most likely injured his knee in Week 16 against the Miami Dolphins, when injuries forced him to play left tackle, only for Mankins to go down with an injury early in the game.
The recent pick-up of guard Robert Gallery makes a lot more sense as the Patriots look for a talent who could step in at left guard in an emergency. Gallery is comfortable at left guard and would be able to play at a high level until Mankins fully recovers. However, the potential injury to Mankins means that the return of right guard Brian Waters becomes even more important as the team would be hurting at the guard spots.
The addition of Gallery, as opposed to the drafting and grooming of a young player, shows that Belichick realizes that he needs to pick-up top caliber players to win in the now. Hopefully Mankins can heal up and win in the now with the rest of the team.