Rajon Rondo has said that he is optimistic of making his first appearance of the season before the All-Star break.

The Boston Celtics point guard has not played since tearing his anterior cruciate ligament last January.

After a shootaround with the team, the 27-year-old told reporters: "It's just a feeling. I'll probably just wake up [one] morning and play."

Head coach Brad Stevens added: "It's not my call. Obviously the trainers, number one, to be able to clear him to do certain things, to clear him to play games, to clear him to practice. That's their job, and they do that well, and it's about him feeling ready in a number of ways.

"We never talked about a specific date. It's been, 'Hey, when you feel like you're close, then we'll talk at that point'. But I've never talked to him about that nor have I heard from our organization that there's been a date that's been targeted."

The Celtics' last game before the break is February 12.