No Timetable Set, But Shane Larkin Hopes To Return Soon From Shoulder Injury
BOSTON (CBS) -- While there is no return date set for Shane Larkin, the Celtics guard hopes to be back in the Boston backcourt sometime in the near future.
On Sunday, Larkin participated in his first workout since May 7 when he suffered a shoulder sprain after colliding with Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid during Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. The C's backup point guard told reporters on Monday that he made it through his lengthy workout with minimal soreness and believes he's close to a return.
"There was a little pain here and there, but that's just something I'm going to have to get used to going forward," Larkin told reporters in Cleveland, as the Celtics geared up for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Cavaliers. "But everything is pretty good. My shot is getting more fluid. Just being able to fend off people is the next step, so everything's progressing in the right way and I'm feeling good.
"I feel like I'm pretty close," he said. "The biggest part is just being able to protect the shoulder from another blow like that, because another blow like that means more severe injury and surgery and all that. So I don't want to have that happen, but obviously with the opportunity that we have, I want to be a part of that and help my team in any way I can. So hopefully I'll be out there soon."
While Larkin's name isn't as big as Boston's other injured players (Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward), he played an important role in Brad Stevens' rotation and provided a little more depth at guard without Irving.