Gordon Hayward doesn't close the door on a potential return this season

Gordon Hayward does not expect to return to the Celtics this season as he recovers from a broken left leg. However, the All-Star forward wouldn't rule out the possibility in a recent interview with the Boston Globe.

The 28-year-old forward 'hopes more than anything' he'll be able to return during the upcoming season, but he'll be sitting a very high standard for himself to return to the floor.

"It's definitely in the back of my mind," Hayward told Adam Himmelsbach. "I'm definitely pushing to get back as fast as I can, while making sure that I still have a lot of good years of basketball in me. And coming back early and hurting something else is not part of that plan. So I'm making sure that if I come back, I'm 1,000 percent confident in myself and my leg. I hope more than anything I can play this season. That would be awesome. But that's not something I'm stressing about. I'm stressing about what I can do today to help myself get better."

BSJ Analysis: I highly recommend you check out the full piece from Adam, where Hayward chronicles a lot of the trials and tribulations from his rehab over the first couple months of recovery. However, this interview opens a door a lot of Celtics fans were hoping might open as we get into March and April. The odds are stacked against Hayward into returning to the floor this year but I feel like the team's strong start makes it a return a little more reasonable consideration this year, if he manages to surpass expectations and heals ahead of schedule.

The Celtics obviously are not going to risk anything with Hayward's long-term health, but there may be a bigger window this year to get to the NBA Finals than the team originally anticipated. While it's hard to imagine the All-Star forward being close to full strength (from a basketball perspective) when he is back, he will surely be a better alternative (even if it's just in a limited bench role) than the bottom of the roster.

It's far too early to speculate too much about this, but it is interesting to see Hayward himself keeping the possibility in play.