Kyrie Irving expected back in 3-6 weeks after knee surgery

Here’s the official announcement from the Celtics on Kyrie Irving’s knee surgery:

Celtics guard Kyrie Irving today underwent a minimally-invasive procedure to remove a tension wire in his left knee. 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 expected to return to basketball activities in 3-6 weeks.

After seeking a second opinion with the potential of missing not just the rest of the regular season but also the playoffs, this is relatively good news. With news that his knee has fully healed from his 2015 injury, his long term outlook is positive. In the short term, the regular season ends on April 11th and the first round of the NBA playoffs start on the 14th. That’s three weeks out. For what it’s worth, his 3-6 week recovery timetable roughly coincides with Marcus Smart’s 5-7 week timetable.

With Irving, Smart, Daniel Theis, and Gordon Hayward out, Boston is in the process of signing Sean Kirkpatrick to a 10-day contract after applying for a hardship exception.