Rob Gronkowski should be ready for offseason workouts. (AP)

In the wake of his arthroscopic surgery Friday morning at Massachusetts General Hospital on his injured left ankle, Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski should be OK to participate in the majority of offseason workout programs.

Noted sports injury expert Will Carroll of SI.com said there’s reason to believe New England is looking at a 4-6 week recovery time for the big tight end, which should allow him to be ready by mid-April and the start of offseason minicamps.

“He just had it cleaned out, from what I understand,” Carroll said. “I think that the fact they just went in and cleaned it out is a big positive. He’s got plenty of time to get back, even if it had been more serious.”

Gronkowski suffered the injury in the second half of the AFC championship win over the Ravens. He wore a walking boot for much of the two weeks leading up to the Super Bowl but clearly was not himself in the Super Bowl against the Giants, catching just two balls for 26 yards in the loss.

Gronkowski, who insisted after the Super Bowl he would not have to have surgery, had his scope done by Patriots ankle specialist Dr. George Theodore, according to Pro Football Talk.

There are several other NFL stars who suffered high-ankle injuries over the course of the 2011 season, including Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, Vikings running back Adrian Peterson and Jets center Nick Mangold. Carroll indicated that there’s no real comparable situation when it comes to Gronkowski’s injury and rehab time because of who he is, but indicated that there shouldn’t be any concern when it comes to long-term effects.

“There’s not really a perfect comparison because he’s half tight end and half wide receiver,” he said. “There’s tons of high ankles out there, but they’re not long-term injuries.”

Liz Mullen of the SportsBusiness Journal was the first to report the news of the surgery.