On Tuesday, the Celtics were on the road to face the Pistons. It was a battle between the two top seeds in the Eastern Conference.
In the end, Detroit narrowly won the game 104-103 vs. Boston. They have a five-and-a-half game lead in the East. Ahead of that game, the Celtics held a pre-game workout at Seaholm High School in northern Detroit. According to team insider Noa Dalzell, Jayson Tatum participated in an “extensive” 45-minute workout in front of the media. Tatum could return in February or March for Boston.
Jayson Tatum is ahead of schedule in his Achilles recovery
Jayson Tatum dunk!
This is by far his most extensive workout in front of media since the injury pic.twitter.com/kAFbXTQgJi
— Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzell) January 19, 2026
On May 12, 2025, Celtics’ Jayson Tatum tore his Achilles tendon in the playoffs. The typical recovery timeline for this injury is nine to 12 months. Thursday, February 12, would be exactly nine months since the injury. Jaysom Tatum had surgery to repair his Achilles tendon just one day after the injury occurred. Since then, the 27-year-old has been putting in a ton of work to get back on the court with his teammates.
Ahead of Boston’s game on Monday vs. the Pistons, the team held a practice at Seaholm High School in northern Detroit. For the first time since his Achilles tear, Jayson Tatum participated in an “extensive” workout while the media was in attendance. Noa Delzell reported that Tatum was previously waiting for the media to leave before he started his on-court workouts.
Yesterday officially marked 8 months since Jayson Tatum underwent achilles surgery
Tatum's expected return time was set to be after 8-9 months of recovery. It's almost time. 👀 pic.twitter.com/zoFBa3q994
— CelticsMuse (@CelticsMuse) January 14, 2026
Delzell said this was not “a full-speed NBA workout”, but it was notable. This was the first time any member of the media had seen Tatum work out at this capacity since the injury. Hinting that the six-time all-star is on the verge of returning. Additionally, Delzell said she feels something “has shifted” for Tatum in the past few weeks.
She explained that Jasyon Tatum has become “increasingly animated” on the bench. Noa Delzell said players tend to increase their engagement with teammates and the media when they are closer to returning. That’s what she expects to happen with Jayson Tatum. Earlier in the year, Tatum told the media he plans on returning this year.
Having the 27-year-old return at any capacity this season would be massive for the Celtics. Boston was expected to have a down year in 2025-26. However, the Celtics are contenders, currently in second place in the Eastern Conference. The team will patiently wait to see when Jayson Tatum will make his return from an Achilles tear in May 2025.
