FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Four-time Pro Bowl left guard Logan Mankins was back on the practice field for the first time in training camp Sunday and he confirmed what had been previously reported -- he played in the Super Bowl with a torn right ACL.

Turns out he played in more than the Super Bowl with the injury.

Mankins said Sunday that he tore the ACL during the regular season and wasn't expecting the results of his end-of-season MRI.

"I knew something was wrong with it, I didn’t know to what extent. It was a little surprising," he said.

How could Mankins not have known he was playing through a torn ACL?

"I could still run, so there was no reason to sit out. There were no MRIs or anything, so we never knew exactly what was hurt," he relayed. "If you can still run and play, there is no reason to go see a doctor, right?"

Asked about his ability to absorb pain, Mankins said it was "pretty good", before joking on the secret to his success.

"Put a brace on, tape an aspirin to it and go," he cracked.