DOCTORS BELIEVE LONG ROAD TO RECOVERY:
Celtics forward Gordon Hayward’s grisly ankle injury Tuesday left sports fans collectively cringing — and doctors say he likely has four to six months of physically and mentally taxing rehab before he can even begin fine-tuning his basketball skills again.
“The biggest thing for the return is learning to really have the confidence back in that leg and in that extremity,” said Spaulding director of patient rehabilitation Cara Brickley, who said she cannot speak to specifics since she’s not involved in Hayward’s recovery.
“I think it’s certainly going to be a while before he can really get back to playing basketball, and that can be — no matter what the injury — the most frustrating aspect, just giving yourself time to heal,” Brickley said.
It was less than six minutes into the season when the player landed on a contorted left ankle, sustaining a dislocation and a broken tibia. There have been no reports of ligament tears, and a surgery yesterday at New England Baptist Hospital was deemed successful by Hayward’s agent and father.
“G’s surgery was a big success!” his father tweeted early yesterday. “Thanks to Dr. McKeon & entire staff at NE Baptist Hospital who were truly amazing last night!”
General Manager Danny Ainge, asked if he thinks Hayward will be back this season, told the Herald, “I’m not a doctor, and I wasn’t in the surgery, so I don’t really know. And it’s still too early to tell. I mean, he just got out of surgery ... and he was resting all day since he got no sleep (Wednesday). ... But I think it’s just safe to say that we’re not counting on him this year and go from there.”
Local specialists say an athlete with that type of injury will have three phases of recovery: six to eight weeks of healing, followed by several months of light weight-bearing exercises, and, finally, training to get back into the game.
“A lot of the rehabilitation for lower body injuries for the first six, eight weeks is passive — working on the muscles of the body — lower back, hips, glutes,” said Dr. Douglas Comeau, medical director for sports medicine at Boston University and Boston Medical Center.
“That way, all of your lower body is in line when you get back to running and other physical activity,” Comeau said.
Once Hayward can put weight on his leg, he’ll likely engage in light training like balancing on a pillow or another non-solid surface with his eyes closed, stretching and using resistance bands to strengthen muscles.
The last and most intense phase of recovery has no expected timetable, and can be the most difficult for athletes who have been off the court for extended periods. For basketball players, who rely so heavily on their ankles for key movements, much of that will involve cutting, jumping and shooting drills.
Dr. Joseph DeAngelis, director of sports medicine research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, said the player’s physical health gives him a head start in recovery.
“He’s a professional athlete and his job is to get healthy,” DeAngelis said. “The hope is that his career will not be shortened. That’s a very reasonable assumption.”