Boston Celtics fans have held onto hope that Gordon Hayward could return before the end of the year, but those hopes continue to take hits -- Brad Stevens has repeatedly said he doesn't expect Hayward to return -- and on Thursday, Yahoo! Sports' Chris Mannix delivered another sucker punch.

According to Mannix, Hayward's ankle was "still swollen and still purpleish" at the All-Star break -- an indicator he probably won't return soon. As Mannix noted in his column, expecting Hayward to play NBA minutes in that condition sounds unreasonable at best.

The All-Star break feels like a halfway point in the season, but it's actually considerably closer to the end of the year. The Celtics, who are currently 44-19, only have 19 games remaining this season, and it's difficult to see how an ankle as badly injured as Hayward's could go from "purpleish and swollen" in the middle of February to fully rehabbed and ready for NBA action over the next 19 games.

Bringing Hayward back this season always felt like an unnecessary risk, which (presumably) is why the Celtics tended toward caution when asked about his rehab. After all, there's no telling what may happen in the Eastern Conference this summer -- looking especially at Cleveland -- and even if the Celtics make the Finals with Hayward coming off the bench, they would be heavy underdogs to both the Houston Rockets and the Golden State Warriors. That doesn't mean the Celtics should just give up (they are just a half-game out of the No. 1 seed, after all), but it should probably keep them from rushing back a player they see as part of their long-term plans from a major injury.

The Celtics' future is plenty bright, and the team's young wings are currently getting valuable reps learning how to win at the NBA level. Based on Mannix's report, it seems the Celtics may have to see how far the young wings can take them without any new help swooping in when the postseason rolls around.