Surgery for Hayward
‘Clean break’ but no timeline
Gordon Hayward was scheduled to have surgery last night at New England Baptist Hospital, according to the Celtics forward’s agent.
Mark Bartelstein added that tests revealed a potential best-case scenario, in that Hayward, who fractured his left tibia and dislocated the ankle during a gruesome fall early in Tuesday night’s season opener against the Cavaliers in Cleveland, apparently suffered a so-called “clean break.”
“That’s fair to say,” Bartelstein said. “We still have to see what they find when they go in, and then we’ll have more to say. But it looks like a clean break. There’s nothing right now in terms of a timeline.”
Hayward made a surprise appearance before last night’s home opener against the Milwaukee Bucks via the Jumbotron and from his hospital bed. Introduced to the crowd by Marcus Smart, Hayward concluded his emotional address by saying, “Kill it.”
Coach Brad Stevens had said earlier that he expects Hayward to make a full recovery and that there is no timeline for a return.
“So he went through a myriad of tests this morning, confirmed what we reported yesterday with the dislocated ankle and the fractured tibia,” Stevens said. “And (Hayward) is in the midst of discussing next steps.”
In the meantime, Stevens and members of the Hayward family have also had the job of attempting to revive his spirits.
“I was there for a minute last night and also again today for an hour or so. He’s down,” Stevens said. “Obviously, there’s a physical pain to it but I think it’s also doubled by the emotional pain of, you know, he put a lot of effort into trying to start this, his career out well in Boston. But this is a setback; we’re expecting a full recovery and we know there are going to be a lot of tough days ahead on that recovery but, at the same time, hopefully he’ll improve day to day, but it’s been tough. It’s been tough for him.”
Stevens avoided any talk about particulars of the injury.
“I don’t have anything else to add, I’m sorry,” he said. “And not because I don’t want to, I’m probably not as up to speed on all of that as maybe a doctor would be.”
Of note, however, was the ability of Celtics and the Cavaliers medical staff members to pop Hayward’s ankle back into its socket while he was still on the Quicken Loans Arena floor. That action reportedly relieved some of the pain.
The NBA community continued to reach out to Hayward via social media, texts and emails yesterday. Paul George, who suffered a compound fracture of both the tibia and fibula in his right leg during a 2014 USA Basketball intrasquad game, a competition that included both Hayward and his new Celtics teammate Kyrie Irving, told Oklahoma City Thunder media yesterday that the tape of Hayward’s injury brought back painful memories of his own accident.
“It brought me back to (the scrimmage in Las) Vegas,” George said. “Immediately, I felt devastated. I was, like, nauseous watching it. Just going back to that place. You’ll always think about it. I have a bump on my leg for the rest of my life. So I always think about it. It’s always there.”
George talked of the lingering affects of the injury.
“Just being on the court, I’m not as explosive, I’m not as bouncy as I was,” he said. “It’s something I’ve got to live with now. Thankfully, I was able to gain, mentally, to learn the game a different way during my time off. It’s always going to be a part of his story.”