The Boston Celtics obviously have had their hands full this week with the season-long suspension of head coach Ime Udoka, but the organization still offered injury updates Friday on both Robert Williams III and Danilo Gallinari.
The Celtics revealed Williams underwent a successful arthroscopic procedure to remove loose bodies and address swelling in his left knee. Williams is expected to return to basketball activities in 8 to 12 weeks.
The team also announced Gallinari, who signed with Boston as a free agent this offseason, underwent a successful left knee revision ACL repair. Further updates on the 34-year-old’s recovery will be announced as appropriate.
Neither update comes as a huge surprise, obviously, but Williams’ recovery timeline definitely is notable. ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski reported earlier this week Williams was expected to be sidelined for 4 to 6 weeks, and now it appears the fifth-year center will miss a larger chunk of the regular season.
Williams, who turns 25 next month, had meniscus surgery in March but returned during Boston’s journey to the NBA Finals. The 2018 first-round pick has evolved into a key piece of the Celtics’ foundation, offering rim protection and a dynamic lob presence. He’ll certainly be missed, both offensively and defensively, as the C’s navigate the early portion of their 2022-23 schedule.
Gallinari, a 14-year veteran, joined Boston after spending the last two seasons with the Atlanta Hawks. The Celtics surely anticipated that he’d provide valuable outside shooting off the bench, in addition to size at 6-foot-10, but they’ll now need to look elsewhere for such depth after Gallinari suffered an injury while playing for Italy in a FIBA World Cup qualifier against Georgia on Aug. 27.
The Celtics are scheduled to begin their regular season Oct. 18 against the Philadelphia 76ers at TD Garden.
