Kyrie Irving out 3-to-6 weeks after having tension wire removed from left knee

The Celtics announced Saturday afternoon that Kyrie Irving underwent a minimally-invasive procedure to remove a tension wire in his left knee.

The wire was originally placed as part of the surgical repair of a fractured patella sustained during the 2015 NBA Finals, according to the team. He is expected to return to basketball activities in three-to-six weeks.

The removal of the wire from the knee was one of the possibilities that BostonSportsJournal.com medical expert Dr. Jessica Flynn predicted for the procedure and she discussed the details of it yesterday at BSJ:

2. Removal of hardware: This can be considered a “minimally invasive procedure.” If there is a particular area of hardware (usually wire) that is irritating the knee, that wire can be removed. RTP after a minimally invasive procedure like that could be 2-3 weeks

BSJ Analysis: Three weeks from today (Saturday, April 15th) marks the start of the postseason, which makes Boston's potential first-round matchup (Indiana, Miami, Milwaukee) a far more intriguing series. The good news from Boston's standpoint is there doesn't appear to be serious damage to the knee from past issues, dating back to his surgery in 2015. This from the team:

"While removal of the wire should relieve irritation it was causing in Irving’s patellar tendon, the fractured patella has fully healed and Irving’s knee has been found to be completely structurally sound."

Additional insight from Dr. Flynn: The likely reason Irving's return-to-play range is longer than two-to-three weeks is that they likely scoped his knee at the same time (that's how they know everything is structurally fine). They may have also done a little bit of "clean-up" on the patellar tendon where the wire was irritating it. Return to play will largely depend on how his knee responds in the coming weeks.

For now, the Celtics know what they are dealing with, at least for the remainder of the regular season. Shane Larkin will continue to take on an extended role behind Terry Rozier on the point guard depth chart. Jaylen Brown is expected to return Sunday, which will provide much-needed depth on the wing. The team will also need to look for additional scoring punch off the bench on nights when Abdel Nader and Semi Ojeleye are struggling as contributors.

The team should be eligible for a hardship exception for the rest of the regular season since they are expected to have four players miss that entire span (Irving, Smart, Theis, Hayward). That exception could carry into the playoffs as well if Irving is sidelined in the first round.

For now, barring a first-round defeat and a longer recovery process, Irving's season is not over. Between Smart and Irving, the C's could be getting some serious firepower back by the time May rolls around, if they can stay alive until then.

 

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