Five minutes into his official debut as a member of the Boston Celtics, All-Star forward Gordon Hayward suffered a gruesome broken left leg injury that put all of that to a halt.

In the hours since the injury, Hayward has received a continuous flow of well wishes from current and former colleagues and other professional athletes alike. With that in mind, his wife, Robyn Hayward, sent out her own positive message of encouragement toward him.

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The 27-year-old now faces a huge uphill battle from what could be a career-altering injury. Hayward is likely going through a huge wave of emotions as he comes to terms with what just happened to him in a moment that took one blink of an eye.

This will be a huge personal challenge both mentally and physically over the next year as he works his way back to the court. That said, it will require much patience with the process as he recovers from the serious injury in order to avoid any setbacks from the ultimate goal of making his return.

In many ways, this could take his career path on a different track while providing him with a whole new perspective on the game of basketball and his physical well being. In the meantime, he clearly has the full support of everyone around him that want to see him get back to what he loves doing.