AP Photo/Paul SancyaThe Celtics will have to fight through another injury with Kevin Garnett sidelined two weeks.

Considering the celebrations that seemingly came with Thursday's news that Celtics forward Kevin Garnett would be sidelined for a mere two weeks, one would think New Year's came to Boston 32 hours early.

Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge's declaration that Garnett has a strained right calf calmed fears from 20 hours earlier, when pundits from coast to coast made the, um, knee-jerk reaction that Garnett might have reinjured his surgically repaired right knee and that his time away from the court would be measured in months instead of weeks.

Even after Celtics coach Doc Rivers hinted following Wednesday's loss to the Detroit Pistons that the team was confident it was merely a muscle injury in Garnett's right leg, a cryptic suggestion that it was a region above his ankle but below his knee left room for skepticism.

But Ainge, making his weekly appearance on Boston sports radio WEEI on Thursday afternoon, said an MRI taken that morning confirmed the strained calf prognosis and went so far as to suggest that Garnett "may be out for a couple of weeks, at the most." Ainge added that such a timetable might be "on the conservative side."

The Celtics have rarely undersold a player's return date. Quite the opposite, players have been given extra time to make sure they are healthy before being thrust back onto the floor, even in the face of mounting injuries.

Jermaine O'Neal initially was given a two- to three-week window to deal with left knee soreness in early November, but ultimately missed nearly two months before returning on Christmas. Rajon Rondo got a one- to two-week diagnosis after spraining his left ankle against the New York Knicks on Dec. 15, but Ainge expressed hesitation Thursday about whether Rondo is ready to get back on the floor after missing the past six games.

As the new year approaches, the Celtics are set to start an intimidating January slate. Following a New Year's Eve visit from the New Orleans Hornets, the Celtics will play five games in seven days, a span that includes trips to Toronto and Chicago.

After not playing more than 14 games in a month to start the 2010-11 season, the Celtics will play 16 games in January, culminating with a four-game western trip that includes tilts with the Portland Trail Blazers, Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers to wrap up the month.

The Celtics clearly could use a full complement of players, allowing them to keep rookies Avery Bradley and Luke Harangody in suit coats.

Instead, Harangody found himself playing a post role typically reserved for Garnett on Wednesday night against the Pistons, while Bradley is learning how to be an NBA point guard on the fly in Rondo's absence.

Click HERE to read the full story.