Boston Celtics Guard Kyrie Irving to Wear Face Mask After Sustaining a Facial Fracture, Misses Game Against Raptors
Boston Celtics guard Kyrie Irving had to sit out Sunday's game against the Toronto Raptors after he sustained a minor facial fracture below his right eye during Friday's victory over the Charlotte Hornets, but he may not be out for long.
Celtics head coach Brad Stevens has confirmed that Irving will visit a face specialist on Sunday and he's going to be fitted for a mask. He's expected to play through the injury.
"The good news is, thus far, [the facial fracture is] the only point of pain in his face or head or neck or anything else," Stevens said, via ESPN.
"He hasn't been diagnosed with a concussion. We'll see how the doctor visit goes today and how everything else goes. We'll keep monitoring for symptoms of that. We're hopeful to have him back sooner rather than later," he continues.
Irving went down with the injury in the opening minutes of the game last Friday after he took an inadvertent elbow to face from teammate Aron Baynes. The All-Star point guard fell to the floor immediately after he was hit and he was bleeding from the nose.
Irving was ruled out for the remainder of the game and he was monitored for possible concussion symptoms over the weekend. Fortunately, he seems to be fine.
Meanwhile, forward/center Al Horford has returned to the lineup for the game against the Raptors after he sat out two games due to a concussion. The four-time All-Star had 21 points, three rebounds, four assists and two steals in over 33 minutes, and he made eight of his nine shot attempts from the field.
All-Star forward Gordon Hayward won't play again this season, but the Celtics should continue to rack up wins as long as they have Irving, Horford, and young up-and-coming players like Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Marcus Smart and Terry Rozier on their roster.
