Celtics All Star forward Gordon Hayward has finally started running again as he continues to recover from the gruesome ankle injury he suffered on opening night. The 28-year-old has missed 75 games so far due to the fracture, and though he was initially ruled out for the season, his latest progress is encouraging for the Celtics. Hayward posted this clip of him doing some light jogging at the team facility on Monday, showing that his rehab is certainly trending in the right direction ahead of the postseason. 

Running unassisted for the first time since the injury is a big step in his comeback and Hayward is still refusing to rule himself out of contention should the Celtics make a deep playoff run:

"The hope is still there," he said last month. "It's something where I'm really honestly not even thinking about it. I know we're getting towards the end of the year, it's something that I'm still working towards but if it doesn't happen it doesn't happen."

Whilst that may seem slightly ambitious, he has certainly made significant progress in his rehab over the past month or so. Until this week his running had been confined to an anti-gravity treadmill, and workouts showing him shooting and performing various mobility drills have been teased in clips via The Players Tribune over the past month. 

That includes this one showing Hayward performing an odd exercise that involved him picking up marbles with his toes and dropping them into a container...

Hayward also posted this clip on his Instagram page of him shooting knocking down a deep shot whilst laying on his back. Pretty impressive!

Boston currently occupies the two seed in the East with a 53-23, which would currently see them meet the Heat in round one of the playoffs. 

With Kyrie Irving potentially out until the middle of that series though, Celtics fans will be pleased to see Hayward getting back to somewhere near full health. 

Having said that, with just over a week remaining in the regular season and the former Butler star only just starting to jog lightly, it's more realistic to expect his return to come at the start of next season. 

It's been a nightmare start to Hayward's career as a Celtic, but everyone involved in the game will be delighted to see him making his way back to his best. 

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