Brad Stevens 'hopeful' that Kyrie Irving returns to lineup 'sooner rather than later'

The Celtics will be without their All-Star point guard for Sunday's matinee with the Toronto Raptors, but Brad Stevens indicated today that Kyrie Irving's absence might not drag on much longer than that after he suffered a facial fracture on Friday night.

"Kyrie’s not going to play. He’s not here," Stevens said before Sunday's game. "He visited a face specialist today and I think maybe fitted for a mask. He’s got the fracture on his face, as we reported. The good news is, thus far, that’s the only point of pain in his face or head or neck or anything else. He hasn’t been diagnosed with a concussion. We’ll see how the doctor visit goes today and how everything else goes. We’ll keep monitoring for symptoms of that. We’re hopeful to have him back sooner rather than later."


Shams Charania of the Vertical reported on Saturday night that Irving would be getting fitted with a facial mask and planned on playing through the injury. Irving also played with a facial mask in 2012 after suffering a broken jaw with the Cavs. That injury did not cause him to miss any games.

Without Irving in the lineup, Stevens elected to start Marcus Smart at point guard in Sunday's game. The starting stint could be short though with Boston scheduled to play next on Tuesday night in Brooklyn.

Al Horford will also return to the lineup in Sunday's game, as expected. Stevens said before the game he was "feeling good" after missing the last two games due to concussion symptoms.