It appears the Boston Celtics may have dodged a bullet when it comes to the injury of Kyrie Irving after there were concerns that he could miss the rest of the season including the playoffs with an injury to his knee.

According to ESPN, Irving will miss three to six weeks after undergoing surgery Saturday to remove a tension wire in his left knee, the same knee injury which required surgery after the 2015 NBA Finals. 

The timetable allows the point guard to return as early as the Celtics' first-round playoff series, but it most likely rules out a return during the regular season, which isn't too much of a blow for Boston, but a blow nevertheless.

The Celtics said in a statement release: "The wire was originally placed as part of the surgical repair of a fractured patella sustained during the 2015 NBA Finals. 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."

Irving is the third Celtics player in the past 10 days to go under the knife, joining Daniel Theis (torn meniscus) and Marcus Smart (torn thumb tendon). The team has played their past five games without Irving, Smart, Theis, and Jaylen Brown (concussion), and they have also been without Gordon Hayward since he fractured his ankle in the opening game of the season.

As for the rest of their injured players, Theis is out for the remainder of the season, Smart is hoping to be back for the playoffs, while Brown could be back for today's game in Sacramento against the Kings.

Irving has been averaging 24.4 points, 5.1 assists, and 3.8 rebounds in 60 appearances this season, averaging 32.2 minutes per game. The entire offense has gone through Irving this season in Boston, but with it now looking like he will be out for the remainder of the regular season, things will have to change.

The point guard's spell on the sidelines as well essentially means their chase on the Toronto Raptors at the top of the Eastern Conference is pretty much over unless someone else in the side steps up. They're currently 4.5 games behind the Eastern Conference leaders.

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