Gordon Hayward Suffers Gruesome Ankle Injury In First Quarter With Celtics
BOSTON (CBS) -- Celtics forward Gordon Hayward suffered a gruesome ankle injury just minutes into his Boston career.
Hayward suffered the injury to his left leg after he took a nasty fall on a backdoor alley-oop attempt just 5:15 into Tuesday's NBA opener against the Cavaliers in Cleveland. Celtics head coach Brad Stevens later reported the injury as a fractured tibia and dislocated ankle.
Quicken Loans Arena fell silent as Hayward withered in pain on the floor with his foot dangling by the ankle. His Celtics teammates huddled up at mid-court as trainers gathered around Hayward.
There's no need to watch the injury if you haven't seen the it, unless you don't want to sleep for the next week.
Hayward was taken off the court on a stretcher with his left leg in an air cast and brought to the Cleveland locker room for examination. He received well wishes by his teammates and Cavaliers players and a loud cheer from the Cleveland fans as he made his way off of the floor.
Fans React To Hayward's Injury
It's a devastating and unfortunate blow for Hayward, who signed a four-year, $128 million deal with the Celtics over the summer. He's likely facing a long recovery from a truly horrific injury.
Hayward was flown back to Boston Tuesday night.
The Celtics rallied back from an 18-point deficit, but fell to the Cavaliers 102-99 in the season opener.
