Gordon Hayward suffers gruesome ankle injury in Celtics debut

TONY DEJAK/AP

The Boston Celtics headed into the 2017-18 NBA season with high hopes of being the team to dethrone LeBron James’ dominance in the Eastern Conference. Unfortunately for Boston, that mission took a turn for the worst on Tuesday with Gordon Hayward suffering a gruesome ankle injury in the first quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

According to ESPN’s Chris Forsberg, Hayward went down with the injury and had to be taken out on a stretcher.

Celtics forward Gordon Hayward was stretchered off the floor in Cleveland after suffering a horrific-looking ankle injury a little more than five minutes into his Boston debut Tuesday night.

As a result of Hayward’s injury, which appears to be season-ending and perhaps may even threaten his career, the Celtics may have gone from the Cavs’ biggest threat to a team that may struggle to stay near the top of the East.

The Cavs are widely considered to be the favorite to come out of the East yet again. LeBron’s squad was able to bolster their roster with the addition of a few veterans like Derrick Rose and Dwyane Wade. Cleveland also received Isaiah Thomas in a blockbuster trade with the Celtics in exchange for Kyrie Irving, but it might be quite sometime before Thomas can play due to a hip issue.

So with Hayward likely no longer an option for the Celtics this season, Boston will have to figure out what they want to do moving forward. Celtics general manager Danny Ainge could address the void left by Hayward with another trade using some of the team’s coveted draft picks.