Gordon Hayward is close to getting out of his walking boot.
The Boston Celtics were able to sign Gordon Hayward this offseason, and had a pretty loaded team they hoped could stand in the way of LeBron James and an eighth straight Finals appearance. Paired with Kyrie Irving, Al Horford and a good young core, things were looking promising in Boston.
All of that changed on opening night in Cleveland when Hayward when down with a gruesome injury. There is still no actual timetable for his return, but Danny Ainge shed some light on his recovery on Thursday. Celtics General Manager Danny Ainge told Toucher and Rich of 98.5 The Sports Hub that Hayward could be two weeks from getting out of his walking boot for good.
This is good news for Hayward who hasn’t really been able to do anything since his injury. He was on the bench for the Celtics game against the Warriors a few weeks ago, and that was the first time he had been in the arena for a game since his injury.
Hayward’s wife did post a video on her Instagram page of him without his boot on, on Wednesday so that’s definitely a reason to send everyone into a frenzy about his possible return. As for Hayward actually returning to the court no one knows if he will this season.
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The initial thought at the beginning of the season was that he wouldn’t return at all this season. But Ainge did also say that he knows that Hayward does want to come back from this injury faster than anyone has ever seen.
The Celtics are currently 22-4 on the season after starting 0-2. It doesn’t seem like the Celtics are desperately missing Hayward, and with Kyrie Irving playing at a near MVP-level there’s no reason to rush Hayward back. The Celtics are probably the only team that stands in the way of LeBron in the East. They may or may not have to accomplish that without Hayward this season.