When Rajon Rondo went down near mid-court last Friday night against Cleveland with a sprained right ankle, some bad thoughts were racing through his head.

“I thought it was bad, that’s why I stayed down so long,” Rondo said Friday morning at the team’s shootaround in Waltham, after confirming that he will be healthy enough to return to action tonight against Memphis.

“I hate being hurt,” he said. “I try to get through it as quick as possible. I’ve been getting treatment Even though I’m going to play tonight, I’m still going to treat it the same way the rest of the season.”

“He just wants to get back when he was healthy,” head coach Doc Rivers added. “One of the things I wanted to make sure of was that he was alright to go and he is.”

The Celtics were 0-2 without the services of Rondo. It appears the Celtics will be able to throw that stat out tonight as the starting point guard had a pleasant surprise in store at the team’s shootaround on Friday morning when he declared himself ready to return.

“I feel better,” Rondo said. “I’m going to try and give it a go tonight, definitely. Nobody plays 100 or 90 percent in this league. I’ll be alright. I’ll try to give it a go tonight and see how I feel.

“It’s definitely tough to sit and watch your teammates play, whether they win or lose,” he added. “You always want to be out there supporting them. These past two games have been tough for me but I’m anxious to get back out there tonight.”

Of course, it may have been tough on him to watch but maybe not as tough as it has been on Stephon Marbury, who was scoreless in 24 minutes on Wednesday night, missing all six of his shots from the floor.

Rondo said he won’t be afraid of re-injuring the ankle and wouldn’t be returning if that was still in his mind.

“I think I’ll be able to help the team a lot more than I did then,” Rondo said. “I won’t be as tentative to my ankle as I was then. Hopefully, I’ll be able to cut.”