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Jayson Tatum shares video of on-court workout amid Achilles injury recovery
“It’s been a long journey, 19 and a half weeks but I always say brighter days ahead."
Celtics forward Jayson Tatum took a major step forward in his return from a ruptured Achilles tendon this week.
Suffering such a devastating injury could potentially sideline Tatum for most — if not all —of the 2025-26 season, especially given the fact that the 27-year-old forward went down with his injury in May during the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
But just four months after he hit the court in pain at Madison Square Garden, Tatum is already back on the hardwood. Tatum released video footage late Saturday night that showed him running, shooting hoops, and taking part in drills at the Auerbach Center.
As expected, Tatum deemed himself as “rusty” as he worked on the court without any boot or other restrictions on his injured right foot.
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But Tatum also delivered a message to fans about his long road back at the end of the video.
“It’s been a long journey, 19 and a half weeks but I always say brighter days ahead,” Tatum said. “A lot of things to look forward to, I just finished my third workout. I’ve finally back on the court and I just want everybody to know I appreciate the love and support.
“It’s been a long journey but I’m working my tail off to get back and get healthy for the love of the game obviously and for the fans that support me and the team. I appreciate the support.”
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Despite the timing and severity of his injury, Tatum noted earlier this week that he wasn’t ruling out a return later this season.
“That’s the million-dollar question,” Tatum said on “TODAY with Jenna & Friends”. “I think for me, and my team, the doctor, the organization, the most important thing is making a full recovery. Being back 100 percent, not rushing it. But, I haven’t said, like, ‘yo, I’m not playing this season’ or anything like that.”
Tatum added during his interview on “TODAY” that he has a return date in mind, but declined to get into specifics.
“What I will say is: I’m not working out and rehabbing six days a week for no reason,” Tatum said.
A return for Tatum later this season would exceed plenty of expectations when it comes to projected recovery timelines from Achilles injuries.
Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson missed 18 months and 14 months after tearing their Achilles tendons in 2019 and 2020, respectively.
Speaking on Thursday, Brad Stevens stressed that the Celtics haven’t put any concrete timeline in place for Tatum’s return to the court.
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“I’ve said this from Day 1, and I’ll continue to say it: no timelines on Jayson from my perspective,” Stevens said. “My No. 1 goal, my No. 2 goal, 3 goal, 4 goal is Jayson Tatum fully healthy, full recovery. And he’s well on his way. He has been incredibly diligent. He has been a great leader by example to people in this building when no players were around in the middle of the summer and when a lot of the young guys have been around in the last month-and-a-half.
“We appreciate that, and we know that he’s going to be itching to get back, and he will be the biggest decision-maker in that. But there will be a lot of people in that room when that ultimately gets decided, including people that are working with him every day and people that are really important to him. So we’re on a good path, and we just need — the most important thing is a fully healthy Jayson Tatum.”
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