BOSTON — Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart is finally nearing a return to the court after missing roughly three weeks because of an eye injury doctors said was as bad as any they’ve ever seen.
The Celtics have seemed as surprised as members of the media that Smart’s absence has extended this long, and on Monday, Smart tweeted an update of his own, calling the past three weeks “tough” and “scary.”
Given the severity of Smart’s infection, and how contagious he has been, Smart quarantined himself away from the team for weeks before finally joining them for a film session Tuesday.
Predictably, after missing all that time, Smart still didn’t look quite right.
“It just looked like he’s been asleep for a really long time,” Semi Ojeleye said. “I don’t know how to describe it. He said he was pretty uncomfortable for those three weeks, but I’m just glad he’s feeling better.”
Coach Brad Stevens said Smart’s eyes still looked sensitive, despite the recent improvements.
“Even like looking at, when we had film on that big screen over there, you could see him, he’s had two straight weeks of really tough stuff with his eyes,” Stevens said. “Now finally, that’s clearing up, it’s taken care of, but he’s been beat up for two weeks.”
Now, fortunately, the end is in sight. He felt well enough to travel with the team to Toronto for the Christmas Day game, though he didn’t play.
“If it was up to me, obviously, I would’ve tried to play tonight,” he told reporters, saying he was about 80 percent.
Stevens said the hope is Smart can return before the new year, which would bring the Celtics ever so close to full strength, now that Gordon Hayward has returned from a foot injury.
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