Gordon Hayward’s return may be measured in days with news he could return to practice with the team as soon as Saturday coming from the lips of team president Danny Ainge recently.
The Butler product, who has been waylaid with a broken hand since Nov. 9, was one of several topics discussed by Ainge during one of his regular appearances on 98.5 FM’s Toucher and Rich, a popular local sports radio program.
Ainge related (via Yahoo Sports’ Darren Hartwell) the 6-foot-7 forward “is progressing on the court,” and will “probably practice with us this weekend, on Saturday, but quickly pointed out he had no specific timetable to return.
“I don’t want to get ahead of myself and get too excited about it, but I think he’s progressing really well,” he added.
“I don’t know what that means exactly,” he explained (via MassLive’s John Karalis) regarding ” … which game will be targeted.”
While it’s probably wise to assume it could be a week or longer for Hayward to finally suit up for live-game action given all his recent hurdles to a return, it’s not impossible he might be back in action as soon as Monday.
On the night of Dec. 9, Boston hosts the Cleveland Cavaliers, followed by a back-to-back against the Indiana Pacers and Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.
After that comes a five-day break the ten-year veteran could use to nurse himself back to health. It ends with an away game against the Dallas Mavericks, probably the most likely date for Hayward’s return.
While the team may have to weather a home rematch with the Denver Nuggets tonight without the former Bulldog, it’s looking more and more like the Brownsburg native will be back in action soon.
