According to reports, Celtics forward Gordon Hayward is on track to be fully cleared to play by August, following that stomach-churning leg injury he suffered during the first half of his only regular season game (thus far) with Boston.
"All success," said Celts' coach Brad Stevens on the subject. "Everything is good and pointed toward being back exactly where he was—hopefully pain-free, because that plate is taken out—in the middle of July, which probably points to an early-August, mid-August fully cleared time frame."
The update follows a revelation from last month, wherein NBC Sports Boston's A. Sherrod Blakely reported that Hayward had surgery to remove the plate and screws inserted into his leg following the breaking of his fibula. Celtics officials claimed that the procedure was performed because that plate and screws were "causing irritation to [Hayward's] peroneal tendons."
Stevens also relayed to the Boston Herald that he was hoping that Kyrie Irving would be ready and able to play pickup games by August:
This is good, albeit late, news for a Celtics team that was one Irving or Hayward short of winning the Eastern Conference. Timing is everything, though it would bode well for next year, knock on wood.
In related news, Irving was a guest on Bill Simmons' podcast where he stated that, though it happened 8+ months ago, he's still not over Hayward's injury.
“I’m the one that threw the pass for the alley-oop, and I was just like holding on to that for a while," Irving said. "I’ll take part of the responsibility because he wasn’t really open — I saw D-Wade (Dwyane Wade) over there … He just came down wrong, and I was like, ‘Ah, f.’
“I just was pissed. I was pissed for our team and, more or less, for Gordon. He was just now getting to start a rhythm in preseason. It was just tough.
“I’m still sick about it. Because we had a really good training camp, like a really good training camp.”
