Gordon Hayward is working hard to come back better than ever according to Danny Ainge and it’s not impossible that could happen this year.

In an interview with Sirius XM’s Justin Termine and Eddie Johnson, the Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations discussed how Hayward is working to pick up where he left off at some point in the future. The answer as to when that may happen is still as opaque as it was a few months ago.

“I don’t even want to go there. I’m not sure. That’s just all speculation,” Ainge said when asked if he could just come back in the postseason if he’s healthy. “Gordon – he didn’t rule it out – but we’re all just sort of are not putting any pressure. We’re just letting the course take itself and we’ll see what happens. But he’s coming along quickly.”

Hayward continues to ramp up his rehab program and is in a much more active stage compared to where he was a few weeks ago.

“He’s coming along well. He’s in great spirits. He had an amazing workout today, just on his conditioning. He pushes himself in the weight room all that he can. I think he’s determined to come back better than ever, but time will tell. It’s a serious injury.”

Ainge said that he doesn’t know about how much the Celtics would need to see out of him to bring him back on the court in a game this year, but it would require a multitude of play behind the scenes to bring him out for the real thing.

“It all depends and obviously, he’ll need a long time on the court and many practices before he would even consider playing in a game.”

It’s obligatory to remind that while the recovery time for this injury has often been cited as a 4-6 month process, which would have him back sometime in the Spring, every injury is unique. Especially when it comes to your franchise player in the first year of a long-term max contract, it’s almost impossible to be too cautious.