Marcus Smart to have surgery on thumb, will miss 6-8 weeks [UPDATED]

Adria Wojnarowski reported Friday that Celtics guard Marcus Smart will undergo surgery on his right thumb to repair a torn ligament. Smart will miss the rest of the regular season but there is some hope that he returns during the playoffs.

Smart suffered the thumb injury at the beginning of the second half this past Sunday against the Indiana Pacers. He came out for a short period of time but played the rest of the game, finishing with 20 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds.

There is now a clear timetable for Smart’s return, but the NBA playoffs begin on April 14th, while the second round starts about two weeks after that. This gives Smart about a month to recover from surgery and get back into playing shape.

In the meantime, the Celtics play the Orlando Magic tonight at 7 p.m. EST on the road as they continue to play with multiple rotation players injured.

UPDATE:

Marcus Smart underwent successful thumb surgery and is expected to miss 6-8 weeks before returning to basketball activities.

This timeline puts Smart returning to basketball activities right around where the second round of the NBA Playoffs begin.

Returning to basketball activities and returning to game action are two different things, but there is still hope for Smart to get back on the floor for the Celtics as they try to make a deep playoff run.