UPDATE: Irving is having a SECOND surgery to remove the screws because of an infection. Jesus Christ!
Following a mid-March procedure to remove a tension wire that had been implanted at the same time as the screws, pathology indicated the presence of a bacterial infection at the site of the hardware. To ensure that no infection remains in the knee, the screws will be removed. The fracture in Irving’s patella has completely healed, and his knee remains structurally sound. He is expected to make a full recovery in 4-5 months.
Irving offered comment on his Instagram account:
In this case, finding out I have an infection in my knee is definitely a moment that I now accept and move past without holding on to the all the what ifs, proving the nay-Sayers completely f***ing wrong, and accomplishing the goals I’ve set out for the team and myself. This season was only a snapshot of what’s to come from me. Trust Me. “The journey back to the top of Mt. Everest continues.” #StandingRockSiouxTribe
Let’s go Celtics!! Celtics fans, I look forward to hearing how loud it gets in the TD Garden during the playoffs and experiencing how intense the environment gets. Thank you all!
Woj was the first to break the news:
In the aftermath of left knee surgery, Boston Celtics All-Star guard Kyrie Irving will miss the rest of the regular season and playoffs, league sources told ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 5, 2018
In a stunning bit of news, the original 3-6 week potential for Kyrie Irving to return to the Celtics has become no return at all.
Irving had a tension wire removed from his knee, which was put there to help him recover from a fractured kneecap suffered in the 2015 playoffs. After the surgery, Danny Ainge announced Irving’s knee was structurally sound, and that Irving would be fine once he healed.
It’s unclear if there was any kind of setback or if the healing process is just taking longer than expected. The earlier end of the 3-6 week return to basketball activities put his potential return in the first round of the playoffs. To rule him out completely now seems especially odd since 6 weeks away still leaves open a possibility of a return in a later round if the Celtics magically advance.
Particularly worrisome is this line from his ESPN report.
The Celtics and Irving are evaluating further medical options to treat his left knee, sources said
I don’t like what that suggests. I guess we’ll find out soon enough but clearly something isn’t going like they’d thought it would.
What a rough way to end the regular season. A Rozier-led Celtics team can still probably get past the first round if the matchup is right, but I’d expect Cleveland to be ramping up its efforts to get that third seed so they can roll past the depleted Celtics in the second round.
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