Per an official announcement from the Boston Celtics, forward Gordon Hayward underwent a successful surgery to repair a fourth metacarpal fracture in his left hand and will be out for approximately six weeks. With that timeline, the earliest he should be expected back is Dec. 25 against the Toronto Raptors.
Hayward sustained the injury on Nov. 9 against the San Antonio Spurs, leaving the game late in the second quarter.
In Hayward’s absence, Celtics head coach Brad Stevens has a myriad of options he can use to replace the all-around skillset that the veteran possessed but knows that it’ll be difficult to replace his savvy.
Against the Dallas Mavericks on Monday, Boston started the fiery Marcus Smart and decided to play rookie guard Javonte Green off the bench to help mitigate the loss of Hayward’s slashing ability.
