Celtics' Kemba Walker Cleared to Return to Practice After Knee Injury Recovery

Boston Celtics guard Kemba Walker is moving toward making his season debut. 

The team announced Friday the four-time All-Star has been cleared to practice after missing nine games due to a knee injury.  

Per ESPN's Tim Bontemps, people who have seen Walker indicate he "has looked good," but there's no indication when the Celtics will put him in games. 

The star's second season in Boston was delayed after he received a stem-cell injection in his left knee in October, which would help to relieve some of the knee soreness that limited him throughout his first year with the team. But the treatment sidelined him for the start of the season as he embarked on a 12-week strengthening program. 

A four-time All-Star, Walker said at the start of the season that he didn't want to rush his way back from the injury. 

"I want to be at my best," he said. "The last time in the playoffs, I wasn't at my best, and that sucked. I don't want to be that way no more."

Though he said he wasn't playing in perfect health, Walker was still a major part of bringing Boston to the Eastern Conference Finals, where the team fell to the Miami Heat. In his first postseason since 2016, he averaged 19.6 points on 44.1 percent shooting from the field, with 5.1 assists and 4.1 rebounds through 17 games.

Walker, who joined the Celtics last season after eight years with the Charlotte Hornets, averaged 20.4 points, 4.8 assists and 3.9 rebounds throughout the regular season as he was limited to 56 games by the knee issue as well as a neck sprain and the flu. 

Marcus Smart has been the go-to for the Celtics when they're looking to fill the hole left by Walker, and he's a reliable option. He's averaging 12.1 points and 6.6 assists in eight games so far this season.