Gordon Hayward Says He’s ‘Basically’ 100 Percent After Gruesome Leg Injury

Winslow Townson/Associated Press

Gordon Hayward sounds like he is ready to make his return when the Boston Celtics open the 2018-19 season.

Per The Athletic’s Jay King, Hayward noted he is “basically 100 percent” healthy but is still working his way back into basketball shape. 

“It’s so much fun to be able to play again,” Hayward told King. He also mentioned he’s been playing in five-on-five games for the past couple of weeks. 

Per Chris Grenham of SB Nation, Hayward said his expectation is to be in the lineup when the Celtics host the Philadelphia 76ers in the regular-season opener on Oct. 16. 

After joining the Celtics as a free agent last summer, Hayward was injured five minutes into the opener against the Cleveland Cavaliers when he suffered a fractured tibia and dislocated ankle in his left leg after landing awkwardly on an alley-oop pass. 

Hayward revealed in a story on his own website that he needed a second surgery to remove the plate and screws in his ankle that were causing pain:

“As most of you probably know, I recently had surgery to remove the plate and screws that were put in my ankle after I broke it in the opener. It’s not something we were expecting to be a part of this recovery process, but I’m happy to report that I’ll be back out there resuming rehab soon, with my sights set firmly on being back to my usual self for the start of next season.

“The whole complication with the hardware in my ankle actually happened really, really fast.”

The Celtics have high expectations for the upcoming season after winning 55 games and reaching Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals in 2017-18. 

Prior to signing with Boston, Hayward had the best season of his career with the Utah Jazz in 2016-17. The 28-year-old averaged 21.9 points and 5.4 rebounds per game while shooting 39.8 percent from three-point range.