Kyrie Irving's Recovery Following Knee Surgery Is Exciting, Says Brad Stevens

Kyrie Irving is less than a month removed from season-ending knee surgery, but Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens is happy with how much progress the All-Star point guard has already made in his rehabilitation.

"Talking to our training staff and the people that are working most closely with him, they feel great about his early [recovery]," Stevens said Monday, per ESPN.com's Chris Forsberg. "That's exciting, that's encouraging."

The Athletic's Jay King provided more of Stevens' thoughts on Irving:

Nobody expects Irving to make a full recovery in time to play in the postseason, but the fact he's potentially ahead of schedule in his rehab timeline is good news for the Celtics.

When team president Danny Ainge said in the team's statement about Irving's surgery the Celtics "expect Kyrie to be fully healthy for training camp in the fall," it was an indicator as to how long Irving could be sidelined.

At the very least, the procedure seemingly ruled out any chance Irving could join the United States national team for its minicamp in Las Vegas this July. He was among the 35 players selected to Team USA's provisional roster ahead of the 2019 FIBA World Cup.

Assuming Irving doesn't suffer any major setbacks, the Celtics should have both him and Gordon Hayward healthy when they tip off the 2018-19 season as Hayward makes his own recovery from his fractured ankle.