The Boston Celtics are pleasantly surprised with Kristaps Porzingis’ injury recovery from offseason surgery to repair a torn retinaculum he suffered in the postseason last year.

Porzingis was injured in Game 4 of the first round of the playoffs against the Miami Heat on April 29 after a run in with Bam Adebayo and then stepping on Tyler Herro shortly after and calling for himself to be removed from the game, as the video here shows.

Porzingis went on to miss the rest of the first round and the remainder of the playoffs prior to the NBA Finals, totaling 38-days since he last played in a game before playing in Game 1 of the Finals.

In his first game back, Porzingis played in 21 minutes off the bench and scored 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting with six rebounds and three blocks. He put on a show in his Finals debut.

After Boston’s championship parade, Porzingis had surgery and quickly started the recovery process. He told ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne he is expecting to return in December and he also shared an update during Celtics Media Day on Tuesday.

“Got the surgery done right after the parade. And then it was three or four weeks or so at home, hanging out. Then I was able to start to do more in August, and now end of September I’ve already been doing a good amount of stuff and feeling good. Looking forward to keep making progress at this rate and hopefully be out there with the guys as soon as possible.”

The timeline for Porzingis’ return is unknown due to the rarity of the injury. However, Brad Stevens seemed pleasantly surprised with how well the recovery is going, as he shared during Media Day.

“I’m really encouraged by the health of our team. Kristaps obviously had the surgery that was well documented after the year. And he seems to be recovering well. He seems to be recovering well, he’s very optimistic. I don’t know that we’re interested in putting a timeline on him, because the injury is unique, but as far as how he feels and the progress that he’s made, I’d say we’re very, very pleased with where he is and maybe a little surprised.”

The Celtics can be patient with Porzingis and shouldn’t rush to get him back on the court, despite how much he might want it. Boston had much success without Porzingis last year but they will need him to be as healthy as possible at the end of the season and into the playoffs.

Boston should have enough positional depth to get by without Porzingis. Al Horford is poised to step in as the starting center, with Neemias Queta, Luke Kornet, and Xavier Tillman able to give quality minutes as well.

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Photo Credit: Matt Stone, Boston Herald, Getty Images