Jayson Tatum is unsure whether he will be able to return from his Achilles injury during the current NBA season, with the Boston Celtics taking his rehabilitation day by day.

Tatum suffered an Achilles rupture during Boston's Eastern Conference playoff semifinal against the New York Knicks last year, with the Celtics losing that series 4-2.

Having averaged 26.8 points, 8.7 rebounds and 6.0 assists during the 2024-25 regular season, the 27-year-old was initially expected to miss the entirety of 2025-26.

He raised hopes of a sooner-than-expected comeback last October, though, when he said taking to the court again before the end of the season was his personal goal.

The Celtics have coped admirably in his absence, putting themselves in contention for a record-extending 19th NBA championship with a 36-19 record to date.

But it remains to be seen whether their hopes will be bolstered by a return for Tatum, who has now said he will not risk returning to action before he is ready.

"I know what 100% feels like," Tatum said, as quoted by The Athletic. "And if and when that time comes, I'll be ready.

"I think it's just important that I've worked this hard to get myself in a position where it [playing this year] could be a conversation. I think we've done a really good job on that.

"It's something that's very serious. The injury that I had, it's a long journey, so, for me, it's just a lot easier to take it one day at a time and see how I progress from here."

Another day of work  pic.twitter.com/EJD0iT58rP

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) February 21, 2026

Tatum revealed he is not yet training with the intensity required for an NBA game, though he recently went through a full five-on-five workout with his team-mates.

"It's tough to go into details of every single thing I do every day," Tatum said. 

"But I will say I'm just getting acclimated more and doing limited things with some of the guys out there. But it's all part of the rehab. We're just going with the plan."

The Celtics are in action against the 34-21 Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday, before a back-to-back against the Phoenix Suns and Denver Nuggets on Tuesday and Wednesday.