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Important Jayson Tatum Injury News Revealed on Friday

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Paolo Songco | Last updated May 16, 2025 9:17 PM ET

The Boston Celtics will try to keep their season alive on Friday without their best player available. Jayson Tatum is now expected to miss up to nine months--and possibly more--after the six-time All-Star underwent surgery to repair his ruptured Achilles tendon.

The Celtics turned in an impressive performance in Game 5 on Wednesday to secure a 127-102 win over the New York Knicks even with Tatum sidelined, and they will need to do it all over again on Friday in order to stave off elimination.

NBA insider Shams Charania shared several crucial updates on Tatum's current status after the Celtics superstar was released from the hospital earlier this week. According to the renowned league guru, Tatum has been "very communicative" with his teammates amid his current situation.

"He actually visited them in New York City on Thursday and started to really ingratiate himself again with the team," Charania reported. "But he watched Game 5 and that win in Boston. He's going to watch Game 6."

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Charania then went on to discuss the "long rehab" process Tatum is now facing, which, in typical cases, "can cover about a calendar year." According to Charania, Tatum now plans to reach out to Phoenix Suns superstar Kevin Durant for some advice.

"One prime example of a tremendous rehab from Achilles tear is Kevin Durant," the reporter said. "And both surgeries were quick. Kevin Durant had his two days after suffering the Achilles tear. Jason Tatum has it one day after his Achilles tear. And both happened at the hospital's special surgery in New York City, I'm told that.

"The expectation around Tatum is that he will consult with Kevin Durant about that rehab that Kevin Durant had several years ago. And that's going to be used kind of as a template because Kevin Durant made the best recovery of a player from this type of injury in the history of this injury, which is known as the Achilles tear."

While there is still a lot of uncertainty surrounding Tatum's injury at the moment, what is clear is that the 27-year-old is going to miss an extended period for the Celtics, which will include a significant part of the 2024-25 campaign.

At this point, Boston has no other choice but to operate without their best player available, as they look to keep their title defense alive on Friday night against a Knicks side that is already smelling blood.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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