Foxborough, Mass. ? New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady expects to be on the field in exhibition games next month — his first action since injuring his knee in the 2008 regular-season opener.

“Yeah, I think I’ll play,” he told reporters after practice on Friday. “I mean, last year it wasn’t like I wasn’t supposed to play. I would have loved to have played. Just some circumstances came up where I couldn’t.”

After missing the entire preseason last year with an unspecified foot injury, the two-time Super Bowl Most Valuable Player — and 2007 NFL MVP — was playing the first quarter of the first game last season when his knee collapsed on a hit from Kansas City Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard. He missed the rest of the season.

Back on the field for training camp this week, Brady admitted to some arm soreness as he works to get back into football shape.

“It feels pretty good, and then you come out and do four or five practices in a row and it doesn’t feel as hot, so it’s part of what training camp is about,” he said. “The soreness becomes a part of the practices and you just have to do a good job of taking care of yourself. My arm was in really good shape coming in. It still feels like it’s in good shape, so hopefully it stays that way.”