Celtics’ Williams out 8-12 weeks after surgery

The Boston Celtics introduced Friday afternoon that middle Robert Williams III will return to basketball actions in eight to 12 weeks after present process surgical procedure on his left knee.

The surgical procedure, which the staff stated was accomplished to “take away unfastened our bodies and deal with swelling in his left knee,” is the second Williams has had on that knee this calendar 12 months.

On March 30, Williams underwent a partial left knee meniscectomy after struggling a torn meniscus. He then returned to the courtroom for Sport 3 of Boston’s first-round sweep of the Brooklyn Nets, however went on to have recurring soreness and swelling within the knee all through the playoffs that induced him to overlook a complete of seven of the Celtics’ 24 postseason contests on their solution to dropping to the Golden State Warriors in six video games within the NBA Finals.

After Sport 6 of the Finals, Williams stated that the one therapy he would want for his knee was relaxation, and Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens reiterated the identical message at his personal information convention after Boston’s season had concluded.

A return to basketball actions in eight to 12 weeks would preserve Williams — one of the crucial impactful defensive gamers within the NBA, and a key a part of Boston’s suffocating league-leading protection — out till a minimum of Thanksgiving, and probably till after Christmas.

Williams, who will flip 25 subsequent month, averaged 10 factors, 9.6 rebounds and a couple of.2 blocks in a career-high 61 video games for Boston final season, his fourth within the NBA.

The Celtics additionally introduced Danilo Gallinari underwent surgical procedure on his personal knee damage, a torn ACL he suffered again in late August whereas enjoying in a FIBA World Cup qualifier for Italy. Gallinari, who signed a two-year, $13 million contract with Boston in July as a free agent, was anticipated to offer a major increase to bench scoring this season alongside guard Malcolm Brogdon, whom Boston acquired in a commerce with the Indiana Pacers.

Final season with Atlanta, Gallinari averaged 11.7 factors per sport and shot over 38.1% from 3-point vary. In 728 profession video games, Gallinari, 34, has averaged 15.2 factors per sport and shot 38.2% from 3-point vary.