I'm at the tail end of rehabbing after arthroscopic knee surgery post injury, and my knee was quite stiff after surgery. A very gentle quad stretch is to lay on your stomach, with both elbows bent and tucked under, so your fists are just above your breasts, forehead resting on the ground. Bend one knee up so that the bottom of your foot faces the ceiling, if possible. Then push your torso up so that your arms are bent at the elbow at 90 degrees. I always felt a stretch up the front of the quad with this one, but it wasn't so intense that it put strain on my sore and tender knee. Let me know if I didn't explain that well, and I'll try again.
Another key piece of advice given by my ortho was to sit straight up, one leg bent with foot on the floor, other leg straight out. Hug the bent knee to your chest and keep your back straight, then lift the straight leg slowly up and down without resting it on the floor between lifts. Start with a count of 10 and increase up to 15 at a time. I wasn't given this exercise for about 6 weeks post injury, and when I started it I was amazed at how weak my quad had gotten in such a short period. The leg raise was tough at that point, but it eventually was successful in regaining quad strength without stress on the knee.
Hth, and hope you recover quickly and fully!
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