BOSTON — Kristaps Porziņģis said Saturday he is making slow progress from a right soleus (calf) strain suffered in Game 4 of the Boston Celtics’ first-round series against the Miami Heat, but has no timetable yet back.
“There is obviously no specific date. It’s still early,” Porziņģis said. “I think it will be clear once I start doing more things. …Not very close yet. But I expect a recovery at a historic pace.
Porziņģis said he hoped to return as soon as he felt better, but it could take a while.
“It’s something; it’s not nothing. So it will definitely take a little time,” he said. “But I’m doing everything I can to speed things up because I want to be of back as soon as possible But, to understand, the worst thing would probably be to make this worse again. So be smart.
Dr. Daniel Kharrazi, an orthopedic surgeon at Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute in Los Angeles, said a grade 1 soleus strain typically takes one to two weeks of recovery, a grade 2 strain takes two to three weeks and a grade 3 strain, which is a complete tear of the muscle, takes four to six weeks.
“From what I understand, Porziņģis’ injury is level 2 and the recovery I hope for is somewhere in two to three weeks,” Kharrazi said. “A lot of reports said it was similar to what Giannis Antetokounmpo had and I understand Giannis had a grade 2.”
Porziņģis said he was aggressive with his rehabilitation and took things day by day, then quickly corrected himself to say week by week. He was injured on April 29, so a little over a week will have passed when the second round begins. He said the injury was the result of several events that occurred over a short period of time.
“I was going to bounce and I stepped on Tyler Herro and rolled my ankle. I came back, maybe I started to compensate a little too much with the other side or something, I don’t know,” Porziņģis said. “As soon as I pushed, I felt something.”
Kristaps Porziņģis grabbed his right leg after a fight just before this play, then ended up lame here. A few parts later he asked to be replaced.
The Celtics say he has concerns about right calf tightness. He missed time due to a strained right hamstring and left calf,… pic.twitter.com/JGMnvmXooW
– Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) April 30, 2024
“I don’t think it’s a coincidence,” Kharrazi said. “Certain gluteal and ankle problems may have caused imbalance and poor protection of the muscles. This alteration in mechanics can predispose you to something like this.
Whenever someone finds themselves lame from a calf strain, the immediate concern is whether it is an Achilles tendon injury, which often requires surgery and a period of significant recovery.
“You saw my reaction on the pitch. Then, once the diagnosis was made, I calmed down,” Porziņģis said. “It seems it’s not as bad as I originally thought. Yeah, that’s what it is. Nobody wants to be hurt. But at least it’s not as bad as it could have been.
According to Kharrazi, a soleus injury can seem alarming at first, but it usually requires a simple rehabilitation process.
“Calf strains are usually gastroc strains, which is (the muscle) of the outer part of the leg. Ninety percent of the time when the leg is injured by a calf strain, it is a gastromedial head injury,” Kharrazi said. “The soleus muscle is much deeper than the gastroc. But the good news is that the soleus is very vascular, it has a good blood supply. With deeper strains, although the injury may be caused by a little more force, recovery is not extremely long. So generally 2-3 weeks should be the time frame.
Antetokounmpo, who suffered a soleus strain against the Celtics on April 9, missed three weeks and was listed as questionable to make his playoff debut when the Milwaukee Bucks’ season ended in Game 6 on Thursday. He told reporters Friday that he still has a few weeks before he returns.
“The day of Game 4 in Indiana was the first time I was able to run at my weight since April 9,” Antetokounmpo said, according to Athleticism Eric Nehm. “So I think I did my best to come back and help my teammates. It’s quite difficult to see them there and not be able to help them. But I just couldn’t.
Porziņģis said he had not started running yet. According to Kharrazi, an athlete recovering from a level 2 strain often needs at least a week before they can start jogging.
“I’m not on the ground yet. But very soon I plan to start doing things,” he said. “Always in the weight room, always moving and slowly, like I’m developing. I would say every day is a lot of progress, still very fresh, but progressing and feeling good.
Porziņģis said that after controlling the inflammation after the injury, he and the training staff focused on introducing some movement “without stressing it too much.”
“Every day is a pretty big jump, so I expect Monday to be pretty good and go from there,” he said.
This is not the first calf strain Porziņģis has suffered this season, as he strained his left calf against Orlando on November 24 and missed the next four games.
“This one is stronger. Worse, yeah,” he says. “I didn’t mean to use that word, but just a little worse, that’s for sure. And yes, it’s just going to take a little longer. But keeping a positive mindset.
Porziņģis missed 25 games during the regular season, in which the Celtics went 21-4. But this will likely be the first time he’s missed more than 10 days in a row, which is frustrating for him since it’s his first chance to play beyond the first round of the playoffs in his career.
“Hard, hard, hard. I’m not going to lie, it’s difficult,” Porziņģis said. “The first moments were really difficult. It depresses you for a second. It’s like that. It’s part of the sport and these things happen.
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(Photo: Danielle Parhizkaran/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)