Jayson Tatum Issues Confident Message On Achilles Injury Rehab

The Boston Celtics are a week away from making their return to the court, but when they square off against the Philadelphia 76ers on Oct. 22, they will do so without superstar forward Jayson Tatum at their disposal.

In the 2025 NBA Playoffs, Tatum suffered a torn Achilles tendon, which is a serious injury that typically requires a 10-12-month recovery period. While Tatum has made great strides in his injury rehab, he’s obviously not going to be ready for the start of the season.

And yet, with each clip of Tatum showing off his recovery progress, it’s clear that he, the Celtics, and their fans are hoping he will return to action at some point later in the year. Of course, as Tatum continues to ramp up his rehab, the risk of a potential re-injury does exist.

When considering the speed at which Tatum is making progress, some folks are worried he’s rushing his return. However, Tatum made it clear he’s under no pressure to get back on the court, and he doesn’t sound concerned about potentially re-injuring his Achilles.

“The number is low,” Tatum said in an interview with DJ Siddiqi of PokerStrategy.com when asked about the risk of re-injury. “Everybody thinks it’s a time-based recovery. Time is obviously important, but you have to hit certain benchmarks. The most important thing is all these tests of your strength, the strength in your calf, the strength in your leg.”

“For some guys, that takes six, nine, 12 months. Everybody’s just different. But the surgery that I got, the things that we’ve been doing, I feel very, very confident in that surgical site. We won’t have that problem again.”

The C’s main goal is making sure that when Tatum does return to the court, he’s fully ready to go. So for now, he’s going to continue working his way back to full health, but if all goes according to plan for him over the next few months, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him back on the court in March or April.