Jayson Tatum Addresses The Potential Pressure To Return From Injury This Season

The end of the 2025 campaign was a heartbreaking one for Jayson Tatum, as his team not only went down to the rival New York Knicks, but he suffered a brutal torn Achilles tendon in the process. That injury, coming in the postseason, led many to believe his 2025/26 regular season was over, with the recovery time expected to be too long to make that happen.

However, reports out of the Celtics camp thus far have been promising, with videos of Tatum even taking to the court and resuming basketball activities so soon after he suffered the injury. That's led to plenty of optimism in Boston about a potential return in 2025/26 at some point, but for now, it's not the expectation.

That is something that Tatum recently addressed at Celtics Media Day, revealing he hopes to return, but isn't putting pressure on himself to do so, saying he'll only return when he's at 100%.

“There’s no pressure to return back. Any sooner than, you know, when I’m 100% healthy.”

After his injury, the Celtics moved on from several pieces of their championship core, and now, they will look to the trio of Jaylen Brown, Payton Pritchard, and Derrick White to lead them in Tatum's absence.

Ultimately, Tatum coming back this season would be an incredible story, but with his long-term health in mind, if he can't return this season, he's clearly not going to force things until he's 100% healthy, confident, and ready to go.