WALTHAM -- Jeff Green already fought his way back from season-ending heart surgery. He isn't going to let a black eye stop him from playing.
Green returned to practice on Sunday after suffering a bruised left cheek and chipping three teeth when he was elbowed by Ersan Ilyasova in Friday's loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.
"It's cool, just add it to my character," Green said of the mark under his left eye. "Just another bruise that I've got to fight through."
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Green was attended to by the Celtics medical staff during Friday's game and left the court holding a towel up to his face. He thought the injury was going to be worse than the diagnosis.
"I thought I broke the bone right under my eye," he said. "I thought it cracked or something or my nose broke. That was the first thought because I was in a lot of pain. I couldn't really open my left eye. That was all that was going through my head. I just wanted to see a doctor quick and fast."
Green went through concussion tests and was cleared that night. His vision was not effected and he only feels slight numbness and swelling, but is pain-free.
He will play on Tuesday against the Brooklyn Nets and does not plan on wearing a face mask.
"I'm not hiding it," he said. "Everybody sees it, everybody knows what it is."
Said head coach Doc Rivers, "He looked good (in practice). He looked like Jeff Green with a black eye and chipped teeth.
"He actually looked better," Rivers added with a laugh.