Boston Celtics star point guard Kemba Walker will miss the start of the season with a knee injury according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. Walker had a stem cell injection in his left knee in early October and was placed on a 12-week strengthening regiment.
Celtics guard Kemba Walker’s game availability will be updated in first week of January. He is expected to resume on-court activities early this month, after receiving a stem cell injection in his left knee and a strengthening program to prepare for the upcoming season.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 1, 2020
Walker is expected to return to on-court activities later this month with the expectation that he will be back sometime in January. The 30-year-old guard had surgery back in 2017 for a knee injury as well.
With Kemba Walker out, pressure will be on Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown to step up and take over the scoring load. New signee Jeff Teague and rookie Payton Pritchard may be forced to take on a bigger role in the backcourt. Of course, fan-favorite Marcus Smart is still around and should be able to man the spot too if things are going south. Boston also lost playmaking forward Gordon Hayward to Walker’s old team the Charlotte Hornets, so there was already some ground that needed making up.
In addition to the Kemba Walker injury, the Celtics also announced that Romeo Langford will miss time after wrist surgery. New big Tristan Thompson also suffered a hamstring injury in an offseason workout prior to joining Boston.
