Boston Celtics forward Jeff Green will have surgery to repair an aortic aneurysm and will miss the entire season, the team announced on Saturday as it traveled to Toronto for its exhibition opener against the Raptors.
Green is scheduled for an operation on Monday at the Cleveland Clinic. Doctors have told him the operation “should completely repair Green’s condition and that he can expect to resume his NBA career next season,” the Celtics said in a news release.
If so, the timing of his training camp physical—and the end of the NBA lockout—may have saved Green’s life and helped the Celtics avert a tragedy like the 1993 death of Reggie Lewis, who dropped dead on a practice court of a heart condition in the prime of his career.
Tough break for Green and the Celtics. Here's to a full and speedy recovery, we certainly don't want to see another Reggie Lewis type situation.
