Gordon Hayward‘s season appeared to be done just as it was getting underway, as he suffered a gruesome leg injury on Opening Night, but he says that a return this year isn’t entirely out of the question.
New: I went to a Boston restaurant with @gordonhayward and watched the Celtics play the Spurs, and we talked all about the past two months, and what's next: https://t.co/2VWKTsd4yN
— Adam Himmelsbach (@AdamHimmelsbach) December 9, 2017
Hayward, 27, says he’s “pushing to get back” on the court with the Boston Celtics as soon as possible.
The All-Star forward, however, cautions that he won’t be taking any unnecessary risks.
Per the Boston Globe:
“It’s definitely in the back of my mind,” Hayward said. “I’m definitely pushing to get back as fast as I can, while making sure that I still have a lot of good years of basketball in me. And coming back early and hurting something else is not part of that plan. So I’m making sure that if I come back, I’m 1,000 percent confident in myself and my leg. I hope more than anything I can play this season. That would be awesome. But that’s not something I’m stressing about. I’m stressing about what I can do today to help myself get better.”
His return date, of course, remains unclear. The Celtics have been cautious, consistently saying they do not expect Hayward back this season. Hayward does not expect it, either. He does not like to think that far ahead.
“I feel like for me it’s better to just tell myself, ‘Let’s be better today than I was yesterday,’ and then keep doing that day in and day out,” Hayward said. “And if it happens to get to the point where the season’s still going on and I can play, then, like, that’s awesome.”
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