JONATHON Patton will head to Philadelphia next week to work with one of the world's leading knee specialists in a bid to boost his rehabilitation from a second reconstruction.

The 21-year-old tore his right anterior cruciate ligament tore for the second time last August, requiring a repeat of surgery first carried out in 2013.

The Greater Western Sydney forward is aiming to return to the game later this year, and is hopeful five tough days spent with sports rehabilitation specialist Bill Knowles in the US will increase his chances.

"It's going to be a tough week, but I'm looking forward to it," Patton told the club's website.

"I'll start on the Monday and finish on the Saturday, and every day it goes for seven to eight hours, so it’s going to be pretty intense training. 

"It's about making a positive out of negative. I get to go overseas and work with one of the best ACL rehab guys in the world and it's something I'm really grateful for. 

"The club had my best interest at heart and we both thought, 'Why not?' This way I get to go away as I didn't get to go away in the off-season, so I can't wait for it."

Patton hasn't suffered a setback, and if anything is considered to be progressing physically ahead of schedule.

However, while the Giants are aiming for a middle of the season return to the game, they will continue to be cautious with their prized forward.

"Because it's his second one we've not really set any timeframes around rushing him, but the physical parameters that they are able to test would indicate he's tracking a little bit ahead of schedule," senior assistant Alan McConnell told AFL.com.au.

But he stressed there was "no intention to push the boundaries too much at this stage.

"He's just started to drift into doing little bits and pieces of goal kicking and other things [skill work]. "He's just started to graduate into some of those things in the last week."

Patton isn't the first AFL player to consult with Knowles, with Adelaide forward Taylor Walker working with the specialist in 2013 as he recovered from a variety of the same operation.