According to reports from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Celtics starting point guard Kyrie Irving will miss the final games of the regular season and the entirety of playoffs after having surgery on his left knee. Irving had surgery on the same knee in late March and was initially expected to miss three to six weeks.
Irving will undergo an additional surgery on Saturday, leaving him unavailable for four to five months, the Celtics announced in a press release.
This Saturday, Celtics guard Kyrie Irving will undergo a procedure to remove two screws implanted in his left patella after the patellar fracture he suffered during the NBA Finals in 2015. Following a mid-March procedure to remove a tension wire that had been implanted at the same time as the screws, pathology indicated the presence of a bacterial infection at the site of the hardware. To ensure that no infection remains in the knee, the screws will be removed. The fracture in Irving’s patella has completely healed, and his knee remains structurally sound.
The escalation of Irving’s condition is a substantial blow for the Celtics, who currently sit in second place in the Eastern Conference at 53-25. What began as routine knee soreness for the All-Star guard, quickly became serious enough to warrant surgery.
With the news that Irving is expected to have yet another surgery on his knee, the Celtics will have to come to grips with the fact they will have to forge ahead through the postseason without their leading scorer.
Boston is also dealing with the loss of defensive ace and backup point guard Marcus Smart, who is recovering from thumb surgery stemming from a March injury. The team expects Smart back in time for the playoffs, however.
Irving averaged 24.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 5.1 assists this season for the Celtics. The 26-year-old also shot 40 percent from three-point range this year.
