ESPN's Shams Charania revealed a massive injury update on Boston Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum.
Breaking: NBA Insider Drops Bombshell Jayson Tatum Injury Update originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Good news, Boston Celtics fans. Jayson Tatum is coming back.
ESPN's Shams Charania reported on Thursday that Tatum will play this season, perhaps as soon as Friday night's home game against the Dallas Mavericks.
"BREAKING: Boston Celtics All-NBA star Jayson Tatum will play this season and could make his debut on Friday against the Dallas Mavericks – less than 10 months after surgery for a ruptured Achilles tendon," Charania reported on X.
The NBA insider provided additional context in a follow-up post.
There's an expectation that Jayson Tatum will make his 2025-26 season debut for the Boston Celtics on Friday night at TD Garden versus Dallas, sources tell ESPN. Tatum has been described as ready to go and will inform the Celtics of a final decision over the next day. https://t.co/id20oBkXi0
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 5, 2026
"There's an expectation that Jayson Tatum will make his 2025-26 season debut for the Boston Celtics on Friday night at TD Garden versus Dallas, sources tell ESPN. Tatum has been described as ready to go and will inform the Celtics of a final decision over the next day," Charania wrote.
The Celtics listed Tatum as questionable on Thursday's injury report -- the first time this season that he hasn't been listed as "out."
Tatum hasn't played in an NBA game since last May, when he suffered a ruptured right Achilles tendon in the fourth quarter of Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the New York Knicks. Boston lost that game and went on to lose the series.
The Celtics have been surprisingly good without Tatum this season, posting the second-best record in the Eastern Conference at 41-21. If Tatum returns on Friday, he'll have over a month to ramp up before the start of the NBA Playoffs.
Only 10 months have passed since Tatum's surgery, but he's been aggressively rehabbing. If he does return this week, it will be ahead of schedule.
With Tatum's status for Friday's game still up in the air, Boston fans will be closely monitoring his status over the next 24 hours to see if he plays or not.
More NBA: Celtics Make Massive Change To Jayson Tatum's Status On Injury Report Vs. Mavericks
Category: General Sports
