Bird Says Recuperation From Surgery for Bone Spurs Is Ahead of Schedule

Larry Bird said Thursday his recovery from surgery on both heels was ahead of schedule. Still, he wasn’t ready to revise the projected mid-March date for his return to the Boston Celtics.

“I’m feeling a lot better and moving a lot better than everybody anticipated,” he said. “I have some soreness but I feel really good.”

Bird had surgery Nov. 19 to remove bone spurs that had been irritating his Achilles’ tendons. Team physician Dr. Arnold Scheller said shortly after performing the operation that he expected Bird to be ready to play in 3 1/2 to 4 months.

Bird, asked if he thought he would beat his estimated return date, said: “I don’t know if it’ll be a week earlier or 2 weeks earlier or a month later. I just hope I’ll continue making the same progress that I did the last couple of weeks.”

Scheller, who said after surgery that Bird would be in fixed casts for 6 weeks and removable casts the next 6 weeks, switched Bird to removable casts Wednesday afternoon, 18 days after surgery.

The star forward, known for his hard work and eagerness to play, wasn’t sure that was a good idea.

“That was a mistake because they’re going to be removed a lot,” he said. “I’ve been doing more than they want me to do. They should know me better than to put me in removable casts.”