Tony Romo says he'll never feel like he did before back surgery

Although Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo insists his surgically repaired back will be ready for the rigors of football once the regular season rolls around, he admits it's unlikely he'll ever feel like he did before going under the knife.

"Well, you're never going to," Romo told reporters Tuesday (NFL.com). "After back surgery, it's like after any surgery. I think you're always going to have to work hard at that. Not everyone knows, but once you have a back surgery, you kinda have to change the way you do things. You have to constantly work on your glutes, your hamstrings, your abs and strengthen everything around that area.

"That doesn't mean you can't do the things that it takes to be successful on the field or whatever you want to do. There's just been plenty of people that have done it, so you just gotta go do it. It just takes work."

After undergoing two back surgeries in his career, Romo knows he'll never fully return to factory condition, and that the key to a successful comeback is to work both hard and smart.

"I'm 100 percent, it's just - you have to always work at something, if that makes sense. You'd like to be smart coming back. If it was up to me, I would go and do everything, and then all of sudden, 'You're done!' You've done too much."