Boston Celtics forward Gordon Hayward has received an official diagnosis on the hand injury he suffered during Saturday night's victory over the San Antonio Spurs.
A series of X-rays have revealed that Hayward suffered a fourth metacarpal fracture. He will still see a hand specialist in New York to determine whether or not he needs surgery, but Keith Smith of Yahoo! Sports suggests that this kind of injury can last up to three weeks, at a minimum.
Have heard that the early x-rays on Gordon Hayward indicated that he fractured his left fourth metacarpal. That's the bone in in his ring finger that is closest to the palm of the hand. This is often known as a "Boxer's Fracture". This is often treated with a split for 3 weeks.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) November 10, 2019
Gordon Hayward fractured the fourth metacarpal bone (ring finger) in his left hand. As @wojespn reported, Hayward will see a hand specialist in New York to determine if surgery is necessary. https://t.co/DJbGvEmHYr
— Jeff Zillgitt (@JeffZillgitt) November 10, 2019
If Hayward does indeed need surgery, however, he will likely miss at least one to two months of action.
The Celtics will await the specialist's decision with baited breath, but any long-term absence would be absolutely crushing.
Hayward was in the midst of a massive comeback campaign. He had suffered through a disappointing 2018-19 season in which he failed to assert himself on the offensive end while often deferring to Kyrie Irving. Hayward also had to play the role of an undersized power forward and could never really get comfortable with his usage.
However, the 29-year-old insisted that he was in tremendous basketball shape throughout the summer. Hayward said that he finally had a full offseason to focus on his game instead of focusing on rehab, and that he felt he could return to being an All-Star caliber talent.
Through the first eight games of the season, Hayward was averaging 18.9 points, 7.1 rebounds and 4.1 assists while posting a 61.4 Effective Field Goal Percentage. With Hayward back at the peak of his powers, the Celtics cruised to a 7-1 start at the top of the Eastern Conference.
Boston and Hayward will await the specialist's decision before taking the next step in the recovery process.
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