J.R. Giddens recovery is ahead of schedule, but he isn’t rushing himself back on the court.

Giddens underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee last Tuesday to repair a torn meniscus he suffered while assigned to the Maine Red Claws. Even though he predicts he could return earlier if needed, he is planning on taking the full six weeks before he is cleared to play.

“I’m actually having a speedy recovery,” he said before the Celtics-Magic game. “I think if I was one of the major players on the roster, I could probably be back playing within a week-and-a-half. But I’m probably just going to take six weeks off, so probably another five weeks [from now]. I’ll start weight training next week, but everything’s good. I’ll probably start jogging, shooting free throws now.”

After having 25 percent of his meniscus removed, he doesn’t feel any soreness in his knee except for the two spots where he received what he called “baby stitches,” which he expects to have removed today. He has been lifting weights and doing exercises to improve his range of motion and strength.

Giddens will continue his rehab during the All-Star Break. He originally planned to attend the festivities in Dallas with his family to celebrate his February 13th birthday. (They live a few hours away near Oklahoma City.) Now he will stay back to get healthy.

“I’m trying to stay focused and make sure that my body’s right,” he said. “So I’m just going to stay up here in Boston, kept it very low-key, and make sure I’m rehabbing, trying to get back as soon as I can because I’m already ahead of schedule. I wouldn’t want to do anything like put myself back a week or so. You never know with injuries, people getting hurt, so I just want to try to stay fresh and get stronger day by day.”