Ainge: Wrong to say Hayward suffered setback in injury rehab

Gordon Hayward's status may not be as bleak as Danny Ainge made it seem.

The Boston Celtics general manager surprised many Thursday when he revealed Hayward, who's rehabbing from a dislocated ankle and fractured tibia, supposedly suffered a setback in his recovery earlier this year.

As it turns out, Ainge may have been too quick to label it a hiccup in Hayward's progress, and the Celtics executive wants to clear the air.

"What happened is he went on the AlterG (anti-gravity treadmill) the first day and he felt some soreness," Ainge told the Boston Herald's Steve Bulpett. "It was the first day he tried the AlterG, a long time ago. He just wasn't ready for it at that point. That's all it was. So I think 'setback' is the wrong way to put it. I (misphrased) that. I'm not sure what the right word is, but he wasn't ready for that.

"So we waited a couple of weeks before we started that again, and since we started that again it's been great and he's progressed along on the AlterG. That's all. It wasn't like he had an accident or anything like that."

Hayward's prognosis for this season has differed slightly in recent weeks depending on who you ask.

Celtics head coach Brad Stevens adamantly said earlier this month Hayward was not playing this year, though the 27-year-old said last week he is still working on returning at some point this season.