Gordon Hayward may be back sooner than we think

It's been less than a week since we saw Gordon Hayward's foot sticking out the wrong way on his leg, and all rumors since have said that he'll be out for the entire 2017-2018 NBA season.
But recent intel may say otherwise. Former Boston Celtics' forward Shavlik Randolph, who played with the team for two short stints in 2013 and 2015, broke his left ankle in 2006 while under contract with the Philadelphia 76ers by landing on someone's foot in practice. Randolph spoke with ESPN about ankle injuries and the recovery process afterward, and what he said may be comforting to Celtics' Nation.
It's about a 4-6 month recovery. The ligaments take 6-8 weeks and the tibia was about three months to heal in all the places it broke. Ironically, I had the same injury and as bad as it looks it does heal back to 100 percent and does so surprisingly fast. I think there's a chance he could be back this season if he really pushed it. The team will be cautious to bring him back too fast, but I think he could by the end of the season. Maybe not back to full 100 percent by then, but I wouldn't be shocked if he can and does play.

 Brad Stevens also clued to an earlier return than expected.
Coach Stevens is only planning for five months of recovery. That means that GH could be back as early as late March, which would give him a few weeks to get back into the swing of things before the playoffs begin on April 14th. If Randolph's predictions are correct, and Gordon's recuperation goes smoothly, then the Celtics' 2018 title run may be back on.

It may be time for all you 'tanking' shmucks to hop back onto the bandwagon.

Follow OWaukewan

Photo 1: AP Photo





Share