Shortly after Gordon Hayward had surgery last week, Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens said Hayward wanted to start rehab immediately.

That’s a great attitude, but rehab for a dislocated ankle and fractured tibia that required surgery is a slow process. There’s a reason why Hayward is expected to miss the remainder of the season.

“The great news is that these are the highest competitive people there are,” Robert DiGiacomo, the director of the sports rehabilitation center at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, said. “The reason they got where they are is because they pushed themselves to reach that level. They are driven.

“This is their passion, their career. You usually have no problem motivating them even through discomfort. You make sure do this in a logical way. You’re not putting someone through horrendous pain if you can avoid it and still make progress. That’s the trick and finesse and art of rehab.”

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It is figuratively and literally a step-by-step process, and rest is an important part of that.

Post-surgery, Hayward’s medical team will limit weight-bearing on that ankle and leg with crutches and/or knee scooter, according to DiGiacomo, who is not involved in Hayward’s rehab. The ankle may be immobilized for 4-6 weeks until he is cleared for weight-bearing on that foot.

The early stages of physical therapy will include soft-tissue intervention, manual therapy and other techniques to loosen the ankle, DiGiacomo said. Aquatic therapy with a buoy to limit weight on that ankle is a possibility as Hayward progresses in the rehab process.

As soon he can put more weight on the ankle, he will need to re-establish his normal gait and then begin going up and down stairs.

“All the basics we take for granted,” DiGiacomo said. “We’re also doing strengthening activities to the muscle around calf and ankle and muscles above the knee joint and core.”

To regain his conditioning, Hayward may swim or use an arm bike.

When he establishes the basics, physical therapists will allow light jogging, perhaps on an anti-gravity treadmill where his medical team can measure weight-bearing forces.

After jogging, he can proceed to running, and running leads to basketball-specific movements, such as lateral, forward and backward movements and balancing on one leg. Then, it’s on to cutting, hopping and jumping.

“At each stage, you have some measurable milestone you’d like him to hit, and you get him to the point where he can get back to basketball-related activities,” DiGiacomo said.

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The Celtics did not establish a timeline for his return for a reason. “We try not to be beholden to timeline,” DiGiacomo said. “Achieving functional milestones is the most important thing.”

On Instagram, former Los Angeles Lakers great Kobe Bryant had a message for Hayward: “It’s a long journey but if you focus on the mini milestones along the way you will find beauty in the struggle of doing simple things that prior to this injury were taken for granted.

“This will also mean that when you return you will have a new perspective. You will be so appreciative of being able to stand, walk, run that you will train harder than you ever have. You see the belief within you grow with each mini milestone and you will come back a better player for it.”

While these are estimates and each person heals and rehabs differently, it might be eight-plus weeks before he progresses to light jogging and 5-6 months before he can resume basketball-related activities.

The mental side is just as important as the physical side, said DiGiacomo said. To that end, Stevens reached out to Orlando Magic coach Frank Vogel to see how he dealt with Paul George’s rehab following a compound fracture in George’s right leg when Vogel coached the Indiana Pacers.

“Are we satisfying their mental needs? Are we creating rehab programs that also try to challenge them mentally so they feel like they’re competing with something and achieving goals,” DiGiacomo said. “You need to tell them where you’d like to see them get to next. They need that next goal because they’re goal-oriented people.

“Of all our clientele, elite-level athletes are the ones most in need of mental stimulation and conditioning.”

The Celtics said they expect a full recovery, and there’s no reason to believe – based on the recovery of other players with similar injuries – that Hayward won’t.

Follow USA TODAY Sports' Jeff Zillgitt on Twitter @JeffZillgitt.