Gordon Hayward Speaks Out For First Time Since Injury

Boston Celtics forward Gordon Hayward has addressed his [likely] season ending injury for the first time since fracturing his left ankle during the opening minutes of Boston's season opener. Hayward shared a lengthy blog post on facebook where he detailed the injury, as well as the aftermath, and further discussed everything during his interview with Matt Lauer for the Today show on Thursday morning.

In speaking with Lauer, the 27-year old forward became emotional when reliving the devastating moment and how he saw his mother's reaction in the crowd following the gruesome injury. 

During the interview, Hayward also shed some light on his progress thus far, and has vowed to return to the court better than ever.

Celtics coach Brad Stevens also gave fans an update on Hayward's condition yesterday afternoon. During an interview with 98.5 The Sports Hub (h/t ESPN.com's Chris Forsberg), Stevens said Hayward had graduated to a walking boot from a hard cast, and added he was already back to shooting the basketball while sitting in a chair.

While the team has yet to officially announce that Hayward will miss the rest of the 2017-18 season, his agent, Mark Bartelstein, said it is "very unlikely" that he will return this season, according to Jimmy Golden of the Associated Press.

In a blog post titled, "In An Instant," Gordon Hayward recalled, in detail, everything that happened on the play where his Celtics debut came to an abrupt halt.

"It was like once my brain figured out what had happened, I was hit with shots of pain. The training staff came running over to me super fast, but however long it was—three seconds, five seconds—I just remember sitting there, looking at my foot the wrong way, and it felt like an eternity. Dr. Rosneck, the Cavaliers doctor, braced me as he explained that they wanted to try and pop my ankle back into place. I held on, and the moment they did it, there was just a massive shot of pain, probably the most pain I’ve ever felt in my life."

Despite having to play without their All-Star forward, the Celtics have jumped out to a 6-2 record thus far which is tops in the Eastern Conference. The Cs will return to the court tomorrow night in OKC for a nationally televised matchup against the 4-3 Thunder.

You can read Hayward's full post right here.