Boston Celtics star Kyrie Irving is set to undergo a procedure on his left knee Saturday, per Shams Charania of The Vertical.
The Celtics announced Friday that it will be a "minimally invasive procedure to alleviate irritation."
Head coach Brad Stevens told reporters Tuesday the point guard wasn't planning to travel with the team during its upcoming four-game road trip in order to get a second opinion.
Irving hasn't played since March 11 due to the knee injury.
"He has some surgery that may need to happen," Ainge said on 98.5 The Sports Hub's Toucher and Rich (h/t Jay King of MassLive.com). "But maybe not this summer. Maybe the following summer or maybe the summer after that. I think that he could probably do it any time he wanted, but I'm not sure that it's needed at this moment."
Ainge also said he expected Irving to be "fresh and healthy" come playoff time. With less than three weeks to go in the regular season, this is in doubt.
Boston is just about locked into the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, entering Friday 4.5 games behind the Raptors for first place but six games ahead of the Cavaliers in third place. While movement is still possible with 11 games remaining, it is unlikely.
Terry Rozier has performed well starting in his place, averaging 16.3 points, 6.3 assists and 6.3 rebounds over the last four games, and should continue to get extra minutes. But Boston could be in trouble if its star player can't return for the playoffs.
In addition, it perhaps makes sense for Irving to just get the procedure over with right now considering all of the other injuries the Celtics are dealing with. If they had a healthy squad, and could contend for a title, perhaps he would have played through the pain. But with the team short so many key players for the rest of the season, it makes sense to fix the problem before it gets worse
