Brad Stevens References 'Next Five Months' With Gordon Hayward's Recovery
BOSTON (CBS) -- There is still no official timetable on Gordon Hayward's return from a broken tibia and dislocated ankle suffered minutes into his first game as a Celtic. But based on Brad Stevens' most recent comments, there could still be hope that he's back on the court before the end of the season.
Stevens spoke to reporters on Friday a day after meeting with Hayward after the forward underwent surgery to repair his injuries. He described how they discussed the plan moving forward, and he subtly offered his own personal timetable.
"We talked a little bit about how to approach the next five months with maintaining that positivity," said Stevens. "Different ways to stay engaged, different ways to approach this, to attack this, and he was ready to get started on his rehab the minute he got out of surgery."
The "five months" part of Stevens' comments is notable. At the risk of reading too much into them, he may be insinuating that Hayward could return in mid-March, which could give him plenty of time to ease his way back in before the playoffs. If there were no hope for Hayward to return before next season, you'd think Stevens would have said something along the lines of "the next year" rather than setting the plan at five months.
Of course, the absolute best case scenario for Hayward remains that he misses most of the season and comes back just before the playoffs. And even if he is able to make a triumphant return, it's unlikely that he's the same player he's always been until the start of next season anyway. But there continue to be indications that the injury is not as horrific as it looked, and that it's certainly not career-threatening.
