Gordon Hayward injury: Celtics star set to return to practice Saturday

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It sounds like Gordon Hayward is still ahead of schedule in his rehab from a hand injury.

The Boston Celtics forward has been out since Nov. 9 with a fractured left hand and originally was pegged to return sometime around Christmas Day.

But president of basketball operations Danny Ainge revealed Thursday that Hayward should be back at Celtics practice in a few days.

"Gordon is progressing on the court," Ainge said on 98.5 The Sports Hub's "Toucher & Rich." "He'll probably practice with us this weekend, on Saturday."

While that doesn't mean Hayward's return is imminent -- the Celtics still don't have a target date, per Ainge -- the 29-year-old returning to basketball activities less than a month after his injury is an encouraging sign.

"I don't want to get ahead of myself and get too excited about it, but I think he's progressing really well," Ainge added.

Hayward was doing conditioning, non-contact and even shooting drills as of last weekend and had a meeting with doctors via FaceTime this past Monday.

It sounds like that meeting went well, and if Hayward's first practice goes well this weekend, it's possible he could be back in the lineup by or before Christmas Day.

Don't miss NBC Sports Boston's coverage of Celtics-Nuggets, which tips off Friday at 7 p.m. with Celtics Pregame Live, and then Tommy & Mike have the call at 8 p.m. You can also stream the game on the MyTeams App.

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