Report: Here’s when Gallinari could return to Celtics after injury originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The good news is that Danilo Gallinari’s first season with the Boston Celtics doesn’t appear to be lost. The bad news is that he likely won’t be ready for Opening Night.
The Celtics forward, who suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee Saturday while playing for Italy in the FIBA World Cup qualifier, is expected to miss “at least two months” and should return to action in November, Sportando reported Monday.
Forsberg: How Danilo Gallinari’s meniscus injury impacts Celtics
Boston opens the 2022-23 regular season on Oct. 18 against the Philadelphia 76ers and plays six games in October, all of which Gallinari is likely to miss. Still, a November return would be a much better outcome for the Celtics than first expected, as there was initial fear that Gallinari had injured his ACL.
While Gallinari’s timeline could be extended depending on his recovery process, it sounds like he should miss no more than a month of regular-season action. The Celtics should have the depth to withstand his absence, with head coach Ime Udoka perhaps utilizing more small-ball lineups featuring Grant Williams and/or Al Horford at center.
Gallinari, 34, signed a two-year, $13 million contract with Boston in July and is expected to provide valuable scoring depth off the bench. He averaged 11.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per game for the Atlanta Hawks last season while shooting 38.1 percent from 3-point range.
