Kyrie Irving to undergo left knee procedure, status unclear for future

Boston Celtics star guard Kyrie Irving will undergo a “minimally invasive procedure” to address nagging left knee pain, the team announced. It’s not clear how many games he will sit out or whether he will be healthy in time for the postseason.

The procedure will take place Saturday, at which point the Celtics will release more information about Irving’s status.

Irving has dealt with pain in his left knee most of the season and has not played since March 11. Initial MRI results came back negative and tendinitis was the diagnosis, but with the pain not subsiding, Irving went to get a second opinion earlier this week instead of going on Boston’s four-game road trip.

“I don’t really think about [Irving missing the season] until I’m told something like that,” coach Brad Stevens said earlier this week. “At the end of the day, like I said, if he doesn’t go on the trip, right, and we know he’s going to be gone for four games, then we have to prepare for those four games regardless. So we have to make sure that we’re as prepared as we can for that, then go from there.”

This is a lingering issue stemming from three years ago

Back in 2015, when Irving was a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers, he missed several playoff games with left knee pain. When the Cavaliers advanced to the NBA Finals anyway, he returned for Game 1. Then, this happened:

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Irving was diagnosed with a fractured kneecap and did not return to the court until midway through the 2015-16 season. But the lingering effects of that injury have led Irving to develop patellar tendinitis, which has flared up at different points over the years.

It just so happens that the flare-ups this year have been more serious. Irving missed a game in mid-January and three games at the beginning of February, but otherwise played through the pain. That pain got worse as March rolled around, though, and has not subsided despite rest.

So what now?

Eventually, Irving will need surgery. That much is not in dispute, not from the Celtics or Irving himself. In fact, Irving threatened to have surgery last summer if the Cavaliers didn’t trade him, according to Cleveland.com’s Joe Vardon. (Irving denied the report when asked).

Now that Irving is with the Celtics, the question is whether he can delay that surgery until after the season or even beyond that.

“He has some surgery that may need to happen,” Celtics general manager Danny Ainge said in an interview with 98.5 The Sports Hub in mid-March. “But maybe not this summer. Maybe the following summer or maybe the summer after that. I think that he could probably do it any time he wanted, but I’m not sure that it’s needed at this moment.”

Since then, the pain in Irving’s need has remained constant. The hope is this “minimally invasive procedure” can blunt that pain temporarily and allow Irving to return to the court for the postseason, but it’s unclear if that will succeed. If it doesn’t, Irving may need that more serious surgery sooner rather than later.

If he elects to have the more serious surgery, his season is likely over, according to Dr. Jessica Flynn of Boston Sports Journal:

If Irving’s knee pain is deemed to be partially related to chronic patellar tendonitis, then he may plan to have patellar tendon debridement during his hardware removal procedure. This could significantly lengthen his recovery period. Depending on the degree of debridement, his return to play could be closer to four months.

That is not the outcome Irving wants.

“I hope not,” Irving said earlier this month on the subject of surgery, via MassLive.com. “I’ve been down that road before. I’ve had a fractured kneecap already. So I think taking games like this, being smart about it probably will put me in a a better position not to be out for a long period of time. That’s the last thing I want to do.”

But the longer this knee pain lingers, the more likely that doomsday scenario becomes. The Celtics and Irving must hope this upcoming procedure alleviates the immediate pain enough for Irving to return for the playoffs and put off the more serious surgery until this offseason or beyond.

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