Gordon Hayward: ‘Now, I Basically Have a Normal Ankle’

Gordon Hayward provided a lengthy written update on his long recovery from left ankle surgery, stating that the joint is now back to “normal.”

Hayward, 28, hopes to play full-court, five-on-five hoops by the end of July.

The star forward says he’s determined to suit up for the Boston Celtics on Opening Night.

Per Gordon’s website:

“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.

“So we got on a conference call with Dr. Porter, and the doctors and staff in Boston, and collectively decided that we should take the hardware out of my ankle.

“The next night I was in surgery. Dr. Porter went in and took out everything that they had put in my ankle. There were two incisions made to take all the stuff out. They took the plate, the screws and the tightrope that was in there. So now, I basically have a normal ankle—just there are some holes in the bone where they had to put the screws in, and those are going to heal up.”