Kyrie Irving Sends Defiant Message After Knee Injury Ends Season

Kyrie Irving will not return to the Boston Celtics team this season after the medical staff discovered a bacterial infection in the point guard’s knee. The five-time NBA All-Star vowed to comeback stronger from his latest setback.

The Celtics guard is set to undergo a second surgery — his first was on March 24 to remove a tension wire from his knee — this time, to remove two screws that were inserted when he underwent surgery to repair a fractured kneecap during the 2015 NBA Finals and clear the infection surrounding the area.

Irving has not played for the Celtics since their loss to the Indiana Pacers on March 11 and initially was expected to miss only a few weeks to combat soreness in his knee. The guard’s absence for the rest of the season has all but ended the Celtics chances of making the finals.

Brad Stevens’ team lack offensive efficiency without Irving as the former Cleveland Cavaliers star’s 24.4 points per game average is 10 better than the next highest scorer in the Celtics team.

Irving will go under the knife for the second time in the coming days and it is expected to keep him out for the foreseeable future. The timeline for his return to full fitness is expected to be around four to five months.

Despite the latest setback, the Celtics point guard remained positive and made it clear he will come back stronger and prove his critics wrong. Irving has been by far the best player for Celtics this season and has played a key role in helping them to second place in the Eastern Conference.

The 26-year-old’s last statement, when he said this season was just a snapshot of things to come, will have all the Celtics fans waiting for his return next season.

“The hardest thing to do sometimes is accept the uncontrollable things life throws at you. You try consistently to learn, grow, and prepare every day to equip your mind, body, and spirit with tools to deal with some of those things, but I feel when those moments arise they all give you a sense of unfulfillment, simply because it puts some of your professional journey and goals on a brief hold,” Irving wrote after his injury setback alongside a picture of him on his official Instagram account.

“It's simply a test of your perseverance and Will, to be present, even in the wake of what's going on. In this case, finding out I have an infection in my knee is definitely a moment that I now accept and move past without holding on to the all the what ifs, proving the nay-Sayers completely f***ing wrong, and accomplishing the goals I've set out for the team and myself.

“This season was only a snapshot of what's to come from me. Trust Me. ‘The journey back to the top of Mt. Everest continues’,” the Celtics guard added before signing off.