BOSTON – Kyrie Irving, a little more than a week removed from having screws removed from his surgically repaired left knee was walking around, a sight that caught many off guard – head coach Brad Stevens included.
“I’m like you, the first time I saw him, when I saw him the other day he was walking around,” Stevens said during a conference call on Monday. “I was surprised too.”
While Irving’s timetable remains steady that he’ll be out for at least four months, seeing him around his teammates and coaching staff during Boston’s 113-107 Game 1 win over Milwaukee, was indeed an encouraging sign.
Prior to his Monday afternoon call, Stevens had talked with the training staff as well as those familiar with those on staff who are working with Irving.
“They feel great about his (progress),” Stevens said. “That’s encouraging. Again, he’s going to make a full recovery. Now that the screws are out we can see his early progress. It’s very good.”
On March 24, the Celtics had initially removed a tension wire inserted in Irving’s left knee after he suffered a fractured left kneecap in 2015. It was supposed to keep him sidelined for 3-6 weeks.
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But after removing the tension wire, there was concern that there might be an infection in the knee which is why they went back in on April 7 to remove the screws from the 2015 surgery which ended Irving’s season.
Catching the infection before it became an issue was important, as was the two procedures re-affirming that the knee is structurally sound.