The latest NBA rumors and reports indicate that injured Boston Celtics player Gordon Hayward is hoping he can return to the basketball court this season. Hayward went down with a gruesome-looking injury in his first regular season game with his new team, and it came against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The injury reports left fans and analysts believing that Hayward was done for the season, as were the Celtics’ chances of contending in the Eastern Conference. Here’s the latest on what Hayward is thinking about as he continues his journey toward an NBA return.
After taking a bad fall on the court just six minutes into the first game of the NBA season, Gordon Hayward was taken away by stretcher and brought in for medical tests. Hayward’s injury was later diagnosed as a fractured tibia and dislocated ankle that required surgery, which had him ruled out for the season. However, the NBA All-Star, who previously starred as a member of the Utah Jazz, seems like there’s the possibility in the back of his mind for a surprise return this season. It was reported by NESN and other sources that he had taken off the walking boot just recently, and earlier in November, he had been practicing his basketball shot while still seated in a chair.
Now, in a recent report from Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe , Gordon Hayward gave his thoughts on making a return for the Celtics in the current season. He spoke about being optimistic as far as his recovery efforts go but also about being cautious with rushing things to the point where he could get hurt again.
“It’s definitely in the back of my mind. I’m definitely pushing to get back as fast as I can, while making sure that I still have a lot of good years of basketball in me. And coming back early and hurting something else is not part of that plan. So I’m making sure that if I come back, I’m one-thousand percent confident in myself and my leg.”
Hayward added as far as the recovery timetable that he’s being cautiously optimistic.
“I hope more than anything I can play this season. That would be awesome. But that’s not something I’m stressing about. I’m stressing about what I can do today to help myself get better.”
As Hayward worked on getting himself better after the surgery on his leg, his team actually got better after losing their early games. The Boston Celtics reeled off an impressive winning streak after losing their first two games and now sit at 22-5 atop the Eastern Conference. Hayward has watched from the sidelines and continued to support his squad in hopes of that earlier-than-anticipated return to the court.
Boston Celtics fans and teammates would love to see Gordon Hayward back in the Celtics green jersey helping the team contend in the East. However, the future still looks bright for the team with Hayward a key component of their success who shouldn’t be rushed back to the court.
