Celtics star Jayson Tatum shares update on Achilles as 'tedious' rehab progresses

Zack Cox, Boston Herald on Aug 20, 2025

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BOSTON — In his first public comments since rupturing his Achilles in May, Jayson Tatum shared a positive update on his arduous rehab process.

The Celtics superstar said in a video posted on the NBA’s official social media channels that he’s making progress in his recovery, noting he’s no longer wearing a walking boot.

“Rehab is, it’s tedious, man,” Tatum said. “It’s six days a week. It’s starting to get a little bit better. I’m out of the boot now. Better days ahead, but just trying to take it one day at a time.”

Tatum suffered the injury late in Game 4 of Boston’s second-round series against the New York Knicks. He underwent surgery in New York City the following day and is expected to miss at least a significant portion of the 2025-26 season while he works his way back to full health.

The four-time first-team All-NBA selection walked without a boot during recent appearances at a Patriots training camp practice and a community event in Rhode Island.

“You’ve got to be resilient,” Tatum said. “That first six weeks of this was probably the toughest six weeks of any point in my life. I just had to accept it and realize it happened, and now I’ve got to do everything in my power to get back to who I was and get back to playing.”

When that will be remains unclear. The Celtics have chosen not to share a projected timetable for Tatum’s return to the court. They have not ruled him out for the entire upcoming season, as the Indiana Pacers did after Tyrese Haliburton sustained the same injury a month later, but will have little motivation to rush him back if the team — which is not viewed as a championship contender after parting ways with Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday, Luke Kornet and Al Horford this offseason — struggles in his absence.

“We won’t put a projected timeline on him for a long, long time,” Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens said in late June. “As we look at it, there’s no reason to. It’s baby steps right now. He’s actually progressed great, but I don’t know what that means with regard to projected timelines. And that’ll be in consultation with him and (Celtics trainers) Nick (Sang) and Phil Coles and everybody else to make sure he is — when he hits the court — he is fully ready and fully healthy. And that will be the priority.”

Based on their offseason moves, most of which focused on shedding salary and reducing their luxury tax burden, the Celtics seem willing to accept a step back in performance this season, with the hope of returning to contention with a healthy Tatum in 2026-27.

“We have to prioritize JT’s health and make sure that he comes back fully strong,” Stevens said.