The unfortunate, ugly fall that Mickael Pietrus took back on March 26 resulted in a Grade III concussion — the highest, most serious grade — and he likely will be out until the playoffs if not longer.
Pietrus swung by the Celtics locker room on Sunday — the first time since the incident — but he is still feeling the effects, Doc Rivers said, as reported by ESPNBoston.com.
“It’s just great to see him. I don’t think anybody has seen him since the injury. It will be great to have him in the locker room. He’s texting me a lot now, which is great, and that’s terrific that he’s able to do that. Again, we haven’t even started the (concussion) tests. He’s going to be out a while.”
A Grade III concussion means he lost consciousness, for at least a few seconds, and the usual timetable for recovery is about a month. Concussions don’t really stick to timetables well, however.
To play, Pietrus must be cleared by the league’s neurologist as part of the league’s new concussion policy. Which is strict but a lot better than it used to be, Rivers said.
“When I played it was easy, we just played the next day and (Rivers’ former coach) Mike Fratello would yell at me for not playing well. Now I call Mike all the time and tell him, ‘I have an excuse!’ But really it’s amazing what we didn’t know back then and what we know now. I’m glad we know it now.”