Gordon Hayward says foot is still sore, will miss time with Celtics in playoffs for birth of child



A couple of hits for the Celtics as Gordon Hayward is saying his foot is still sore, despite the long layoff.

On the court, Hayward has looked much closer to the player he was before the season-ending injury he suffered in his first game for the Celtics in 2017. But he said Friday that he still feels pain in his left foot at times, and while he expects it is because of the severity of that injury, he isn't sure of the cause.

"I wish that I had an answer to why it is a little sore," said Hayward, who missed time in December because of the same issue. "I think a lot of it relates to just the injury that I had. I've been training pretty much this whole time. Not full-go, obviously, since I haven't had a court the whole time, but I have been trying to stay fit. I've been resting, but at the same time not resting ... kind of like a maintenance-type thing.

"Everything is definitely a lot better. There is no doubt about that. For sure, I'm feeling great, it's just the foot still is a little sore. It is what it is."

Hayward has looked the closest to his Jazz self this season

Makes some sense if you're working out that it wouldn't heal up completely, but still not what we wanted to here. If the Celtics have a long playoff run, there will be very little time to rest the foot between seasons. Not sure if Hayward should have been advised to just rest up during the break or if that would have cured things, but here we are.

Speaking of rest, Hayward will be missing some time later in the playoffs (if the Celtics make it that far) due to the birth of his fourth daughter. Normally this wouldn't be a huge deal as it would mean a player would miss one game at the most, but since this is 2020, everything has changed. Due to the NBA Disney quarantine bubble rules, Hayward could miss a few to several games. My brain started hurting trying to figure out how many games, so check out the article linked above to try and speculate how many yourself.

Celtics forward Gordon Hayward says he will leave the NBA's bubble at Walt Disney World Resort for the birth of his fourth child if Boston is still playing.

"There'll be a time if and when we're down there and she's going to have the baby, I'm for sure going to be with her," Hayward said of his wife, Robyn. "We'll have to cross that bridge when we get there."

Robyn Hayward is due to give birth in September. With the Eastern Conference semifinals scheduled to begin no later than Aug. 30, and the East finals scheduled to begin no later than Sept. 15, Gordon Hayward would have to spend several days, at a minimum, away from his teammates during the playoffs.

Of course, Hayward should be with his family for the birth of a child, especially during these times. If I recall correctly some athletes are skipping playing at all this summer due to concerns of an upcoming baby.

With all that said, the Celtics were too deep last season and that caused issues. This year they aren't deep enough and the loss of Hayward for any games due to injury or family, will be tough to deal with in the playoffs. The Celtics will need someone to step up for sure.

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