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Boston Celtics forward Gordon Hayward believes he’s a bit ahead of schedule with regards to his recovery from a broken hand, according to a report from masslive.com.
Hayward sustained his injury in a game against the San Antonio Spurs earlier this month. He was initially given a six week timetable, with a return target set somewhere around Christmas. He’s nearly three weeks into that timetable, and he says he’s feeling good:
“I feel like I’m ahead of schedule,” Hayward said, via masslive.com. “I mean, it’s hard to say with these things exactly what the timeline is. But, like I said, I feel good, and most importantly I’ve been able to continue with my leg work and stuff like that, so that’s really important.”
Hayward has been able to get some shots up in recent practice sessions:
“I’m able to kind of lightly dribble right now and shoot. I’m trying to just build some strength back in the left hand a little bit,” Hayward said, via masslive.com. “So, I mean, I think all this considered, I feel like I’m progressing really well, and we’ll see where it’s at.”
Though his recovery seems to be progressing well, Hayward wouldn’t say if he’s trying to beat his timetable:
“It’s kind of hard to put an exact timetable on some of these things, because some of it is, once the bone has healed, how much pain can you handle and how does your hand respond to workouts or getting hit a little bit, different things like that,” Hayward said. “So I think I’m doing really well so far, and hopefully that can continue.”
Hopefully, Hayward will be back on the floor sooner rather than later, as he’s a key player for the Celtics. The former Butler standout has made eight appearances this season, racking up averages of 18.9 points on 55.5 percent shooting from the field (43.3 percent from beyond the arc), 7.1 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 31.1 minutes per outing.
The Celtics will look to keep their two-game winning streak rolling on Friday, when they’ll face off against the Brooklyn Nets inside the Barclays Center.