Mannix: Hayward ankle still swollen and purpleish

Yahoo’s Chris Mannix has a new column about the fatally flawed contenders in the Eastern conference. He drops a nugget about Gordon Hayward that is anything but promising:

Also: Don’t count on Gordon Hayward coming back this season, either. Stevens has been unequivocal when asked about Hayward (“I’ve said all year, not coming back,” Stevens said) and now the calendar is working against him. I saw Hayward before the All-Star break. He’s walking fine, but his ankle was still swollen and still purpleish, which makes it impossible to believe he will be ready to play before mid-April.

Still swollen and purpleish? Yikes.

We caught a glimpse of Hayward yesterday:

He’s walking without any sign of a…