An implantation assembly (16) comprises a guide element (22) for a ligament (18) a pulling element (24) comprising a pulling loop (26) and a manipulating loop (28). The guide element has a pulling aperture (36) towards a leading end (32), a manipulating aperture (38) towards a trailing end (34), and a connecting arrangement (40) for the ligament. The pulling and manipulating loops pass through the respective apertures. When the guide element emerges from a bone tunnel mouth, the manipulating loop is used to manipulate the guide element to a position where it overlies the tunnel mouth. The manipulating loop is secured to the pulling element and arranged such that a tensile load can be applied to the pulling element without generating a tensile load in the manipulating loop which could otherwise cause the guide element to be manipulated towards the anchoring position during passage along the bone tunnels.
