Everything was chugging along smoothly on the good ship NBA restart for the Boston Celtics, until we heard from forward Gordon Hayward.
“I mean my foot still gets sore.” Hayward told reporters during Friday’s Zoom conference call.
That’s not good.
Gordon Hayward explains that his foot still gets sore but “it is what it is.” #Celtics pic.twitter.com/C61f7MpnrC
— Celtics on CLNS (@CelticsCLNS) July 3, 2020
Hayward of course referencing his surgically repaired left foot which he injured on opening night of the 2017-2018 season. Nearly three years later the foot is still not right. The Celtics forward has been dealing with intermittent soreness and nerve issues in that foot all season long. As for why it still hurts, Hayward is at a complete loss.
“I wish that I had an answer to why it is a little sore,” Hayward said. “I think a lot of it relates to just the injury that I had. I’ve been training pretty much this whole time. Not full go obviously, since I haven’t had a court the whole time, but I have been trying to stay fit. I’ve been resting but at the same time not resting. Kind of like a maintenance type thing. Everything is definitely a lot better, there is no doubt about that. For sure, I’m feeling great, it’s just the foot still is a little sore. It is what it is.”
In addition to the on again off again foot soreness Hayward also suffered a broken hand back in December of 2019. His time in Boston has – to put it mildly – been a constant struggle. That being said, Hayward was still upbeat about his experience as a Celtic and the prospect of continuing on as the team gets set to restart it’s season.
“I cherish every moment I get to play there, especially after going through the injury,” Hayward said. “I haven’t thought about the future, honestly. Every day I’ve been trying to find out information about what’s going to happen with the season more than anything and then trying to stay fit, stay ready. It’s been an unbelievable three years here. Like I said, I had a child here. I’ll never forget that. It’s been some great moments, for sure. Obviously, some not great moments with the injury and everything, but some big moments and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”
