Gordon Hayward’s horrific leg injury to start the 2017-18 NBA season sent a shock wave through sports, and in its sadness, brought people from all corners of the basketball world together. Nobody, no matter what team you’re on, wants to see something like this happen to another player.

The nature of Hayward’s injury meant that he would almost certainly miss the entirety of the season, but Celtics fans were given a jolt of excitement on Tuesday night when Hayward was pictured without a boot on his injured left ankle, sporting only a small brace and no crutches in sight, as USA TODAY Sports reports.

Love to see this, Gordon Hayward is out of his boot and walking around without crutches. pic.twitter.com/7ho4srVKE3 — Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) December 13, 2017

ESPN followed up with Hayward about his recovery, who was signing a rather positive tune.

“The process is always fluid and can change at any time, but, for me, today was the day where I walk around without the boot at all…I’m just taking it day by day; today has been awesome so far without the boot.”

The article goes on to say that while the Celtics don’t expect Hayward to be back this season, they’re not ruling it out as a possibility. That didn’t stop fans on Twitter from jumping with excitement: