"The surgery is done, but the questions remain. Did Clinton Portis return too soon? Will he play again -- in Washington or elsewhere?

Portis underwent surgery on his lower abdomen and his groin Tuesday. The former was expected; the latter was not. Portis had missed five games because of the groin injury, but the Redskins had said surgery would not be needed.

For Portis, the answers are simple. He doesn't think he returned too soon, and he wants to come back to Washington next season. For the Redskins, the answer to the first question is the same as Portis'. The answer to the second one is tougher.

After all, these are the facts: Portis will be 31 before next season, and he has had three season-ending injuries in the past five years, causing him to miss a combined 27 games.

"I'm hoping he can come back here," Redskins coach Mike Shanahan said. "He has to make that commitment that we've talked about. Hopefully he can be a lot healthier than he's been the last couple years. Has age caught up with him? Have injuries caught up with him? Time will tell."

Portis is owed a base salary of $8.3 million in 2011 and $8.5 million in 2012, so if he does return to Washington, he likely would have to renegotiate his salary. But Portis said the change in staffs energized him. Two years ago, he said retirement crossed his mind. Not now.

"I can't leave on this note," he said. "The previous two seasons just losing the lust for the game and not really knowing what I wanted to do compared to finally putting the work in this offseason and getting back and having a system that you believe in and getting the right teammates. All of a sudden you miss it again. ... I look forward to coming back.""