Stevens: Hayward, Irving should be cleared August 1
Brad Stevens and the Boston Celtics are expecting All-Star reinforcements by August 1.
Kyrie Irving, coming back from knee surgery, and Gordon Hayward, out since his debut with the team Oct. 17 with a fractured left ankle, are progressing toward five-on-five pickup games and should be cleared weeks in advance of the start of training camp, Stevens said.
"I've been told they'll both be going, if not full tilt, then pretty close to full tilt by the end of July, so August first-ish," said Stevens. "Probably won't be playing five-on-five at that time, but will be real close. When guys start playing pick-up games, they'll be in that mix, if they continue on the path they're on, but there's no indication they wouldn't.
"Kyrie came through earlier this week, said he's feeling fine, and shot and did some things here. But he's not ready to compete yet -- that's still a ways away. The second surgery for Gordon went great, and he's here getting treatment every day. Will be cleared to do all he was doing by the middle of July."
Hayward, who signed as a big ticket free agent last July, was experiencing pain in the back of his ankle related to a plate that has since been removed. Stevens said the discomfort ended when the plate was removed.
"He was working really hard in (Indianapolis) and he looked really good," Stevens told the Boston Globe. "Like, he was getting close to being able to do some two-on-two, three-on-three. But he just had a little bit of pain in the back side of his foot and that's why they decided to remove the plate."
Boston reached the Eastern Conference finals but lost in Game 7 to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Hayward missed the balance of the season following his injury and Irving opted for surgery with 15 games remaining in the regular season due to threat of an infection around screws previously inserted in the knee.
--Field Level Media
