Gordon Hayward 'Feeling Like an Athlete Again' After Surgery on Leg Injury

As the Boston Celtics prepare to take on the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals, they will do so without Gordon Hayward.

The good news is that the All-Star is progressing in his rehab.

On Friday night, Hayward updated fans on his situation via his blog and let everyone know that he is starting to feel like a basketball player again:

"I know everybody is curious about where things stand with my rehab. It’s all been going really well. I’m happy to report I’m feeling like an athlete again. I’ve been in Indianapolis for the last couple weeks making some really good progress. I leave the hotel every morning at about 9:30 am and don’t get back til about 6 pm. We do a lot of running mechanics, physical therapy, a lift of some sort, and then court work for another few hours. It’s a full day, every day. I’m definitely moving along as planned, and progressing really well."

Hayward has been out since suffering a gruesome injury on opening night, dislocating his left ankle and fracturing his left tibia. 

Two months ago, the Players' Tribune posted a video chronicling his road back to the court:

While many wondered if he would return to the court in time for a potential postseason run, Celtics coach Brad Stevens always made it clear the star would not be rushed back to action. Now, the 6'8", 226-pound forward must watch from the sidelines as his team attempts to end LeBron James' run of seven consecutive trips to the NBA Finals.

Fans will appreciate the update on his status. That was just a quick tidbit of the blog post, though, as he spent the rest of the time praising his teammates and coach for continuing to grind as he and Kyrie Irving suffered season-ending injuries.

"These guys all sacrifice—whether it be their bodies, their playing time—for the good of the team. That’s the type of people they are. They want to help the team win, and they’ve all bought into the system that we have, where depending on matchups and the night, any one of them could be starting or coming off the bench. They embrace those roles. That’s the beauty of our team."

He added:

"We’ve shown throughout the year that we can beat anybody in the league on any given night. We’re going to have to play extremely well to beat them four times.

"But we can do it. And I believe that we will."

Nobody in the Eastern Conference has been able to defeat James in a seven-game series since 2010. The Celtics would be be better equipped to do so if fully healthy, but the way they are playing, it'd be foolish to count them out. Hayward certainly isn't.