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Robert Griffin III's surgery reportedly under way

Robert Griffin III's injured right knee needs repair.

Lombardi: Adding insult to injury

Michael Lombardi says the Redskins must improve FedEx Field's poor surface in the wake of Robert Griffin III's injury. **More ...**

The Washington Redskins' rookie quarterback is scheduled to have surgery on his lateral collateral ligament Wednesday morning, a source close to the player told NFL.com's Jeff Darlington.

During that surgery, Griffin will have his anterior cruciate ligament evaluated by Dr. James Andrews, at which point it will be determined if more surgery is necessary, according to a high-ranking Redskins source.

"They won't know everything until after the surgery," the source told Darlington, who reported Monday that an MRI revealed Griffin had partial tears to his ACL and LCL.

Art Briles, who coached Griffin at Baylor, later confirmed the injuries to USA Today and said he was "very optimistic about the ACL," which the quarterback tore during his sophomore season in college.

"They're going in to tighten up the LCL and look at the ACL," Briles said. "And hopefully, there's not much, if any, damage to the ACL. If there is, they'll fix it. The future is bright, because I know Robert. I know his heart, I know his passion. And he'll be fine."

Griffin was injured during the Redskins' 24-14 wild-card loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, leading to controversy about if he should have continued in the game when it became clear his knee wasn't healthy. It's unclear when Griffin partially tore his LCL, though NFL Network health and safety chief correspondent Andrea Kremer said Tuesday on "NFL Total Access" that Redskins coach Mike Shanahan told her he believes the injury occurred on Bruce Irvin's fourth-quarter sack of the quarterback.

Griffin exited the game on the next play after he collapsed to the turf while trying to collect an errant snap. He originally hurt the knee Dec. 9, and the injury was diagnosed as a sprain at that time.

UPDATE: The Washington Post reported the surgery began at around 7 a.m. ET. Griffin sent out the following tweet at 7:21 a.m.: "Thank you for your prayers and support. I love God, my family, my team, the fans, & I love this game. See you guys next season."

Follow Dan Hanzus on Twitter @DanHanzus.