Feb 25, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Boston Celtics center Nikola Vucevic (4) works in the post against Denver Nuggets guard Julian Strawther (3) during the first half at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images

Did Nikola Vučević Inadvertently Reveal His Actual Injury Timeline?

Originally posted on Boston Celtics on SI
By John Karalis | Last updated Mar 21, 2026 7:26 PM ET

Nikola Vučević underwent surgery to repair his fractured right ring finger two weeks ago. At the time, the Celtics said he’d be reevaluated in three to four weeks.

“Everything is progressing on schedule,” he said before the win over the Memphis Grizzlies, according to NBC Sports Boston’s Abby Chin.

The question is, what’s the actual schedule? According to Chin, he’ll get X-rays next week to make a further determination, and if that's all clear, he can return to the floor. But if you look at this video from the game broadcast, you can see him talking to longtime official Ed Malloy, who came over to the Celtics bench to check on him.

You can see Vučević grimace, look at his finger, and apparently say “two more weeks.”

pic.twitter.com/53zpK4WyEl
— John Karalis (@JohnKaralisClip) March 21, 2026

Vučević underwent what’s known as ORIF surgery, or “Open Reduction Internal Fixation.” Basically, an incision is made and some sort of stabilizing device like screws, a plate, or both, are used to put the bone back in place.

An extra week would be ideal because it would give Vučević time to build some chemistry with Jayson Tatum. If he was able to return at the three week mark, he’d get nine games before the regular season ends. If he comes back at the four-week mark, that would only give him five. That's not a lot of time, but he has always been pretty confident about how he’d fit in.

“With my skill set, I think I'm going to be able to fit in pretty, pretty well with the way they want to play, with the way we want to run our offense,” he said. “ A lot of it fits right in my skill set, a lot of it is read-based, which I think will be good for me. … I think, it’s things that I will pick up on pretty quick, and like I said, fits pretty well with the way I like to play.”

Still, timing needs to be honed, and that only comes with repetition.

The Celtics can lean on Luka Garza to pick up the slack, just like he has over the past two weeks. He continues to make an impact, crashing the offensive glass and shooting better than 40% from deep. Vučević is a better player, and the Celtics would prefer to have his passing and defensive rebounding on the floor for large portions of the game, but Garza has shown he can help space the offense nicely.

The positive side of all of this is that Vučević will apparently be back at some point in the regular season. When that is in the little of it we have left, is still unclear.

This article first appeared on Boston Celtics on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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