Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart has missed the last three weeks due to a serious eye infection. Smart recently made his way back to practice, but coach Brad Stevens sees that Smart is still feeling the effects of his ailment, per Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston.
Brad on Marcus Smart: “You can still see his eyes are still swollen, and you can see it’s still very sensitive. .. We had film on that big screen over there, you could see him, he’s had two straight weeks of really tough stuff with his eyes.”
Targeting return before new year.
— Chris Forsberg (@ChrisForsberg_) December 24, 2019
Smart gave his own injury update on Twitter and was glad to get back on the practice court with his teammates. He also described his past three weeks as “tough” and “scary” as he kept himself away from the team to prevent the infection from spreading to the rest of the guys.
Good to get back to practice today w the team. Been a tough 👀 scary 3 weeks. All i wanted for Christmas we already getttin- wins w everyone involved! And props to this dude… https://t.co/dSxLVLNqr5
— marcus smart (@smart_MS3) December 24, 2019
Smart has not played since December 4 and has missed Boston's last six contests. He will also miss his seventh straight game as he has already been ruled out for their Christmas Day showdown against the Toronto Raptors. Still, the Celtics hope that they can get their defensive stalwart back before the new year.
Smart reportedly showed up to practice three weeks ago and appeared to be dealing with a “normal” eye infection. However, his condition deteriorated and had to be kept away from the team.
Smart was having a career year before going down with the infection. He has been averaging the most minutes of his career at 31.4 per game. In turn, he has churned in a career-best 11.8 points, to go with 3.4 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 1.3 steals.
The Celtics look to extend their three-game winning streak as they head up north to take on the defending champs. Unfortunately, they will have to do so without Smart.