When is Jimmy Butler coming back from injury for Heat? 6x All-Star's probable return for playoffs explored

Jimmy Butler suffered a sprained MCL in his right knee in their NBA Play-In Tournament game against the Philadelphia 76ers on Apr. 17. He was ruled out for multiple weeks since the diagnosis, which means he could miss the entire first-round series against the Boston Celtics.

So, when is Butler coming back from the injury? He has no timetable for a return and will have to continue cheering on the Miami Heat for now. He told reporters on Sunday that he's working out and wants to play in the postseason.

"I don't know about a timeline, but we've been working. I want to hoop. I want to get out here. I want some of this," Butler said. [H/T NBA.com]

Jimmy Butler injured his right knee late in the first quarter of the Miami Heat's game against the Philadelphia 76ers. He was on the fastbreak when he stopped to fake out Kelly Oubre Jr., who fell into his knee during the play. He played through the injury until the third quarter, but the Heat eventually lost 105-104.

The Heat earned the No. 8 seed without Bulter after defeating his former team, the Chicago Bulls. They faced the best team in the league, the Boston Celtics, in the first round. The Celtics dominated Game 1 before Miami's hot-shooting allowed them to steal Game 2.

However, the Celtics had a bounce-back game to get back homecourt advantage after a Game 3 win. They remain the favorites to advance to the next round, but if the Heat miraculously eliminate the Celtics, there's still no timetable for Butler's potential return.

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Jimmy Butler facing 1-2 months of rehab

If the Miami Heat get on another run to the NBA Finals as the No. 8 seed, there's a chance for Jimmy Butler to return. Shams Charania of The Athletic reported last week that Butler is facing one to two months of rehabilitation to recover from the MCL sprain.

"It's crazy to me that Jimmy Butler played three quarters with what I'm hearing now was a severe MCL sprain.

"He is not going to be back in this series. This is a rehab that's going to go at least one month, could be two months of rehab. This is something that Jimmy Butler is going to have to work on," Charania said. [H/T Sports Illustrated]

Butler is the heart and soul of the Heat, so his knee injury was a huge blow to their postseason hopes. It also doesn't help that they are up against the Celtics in the first round.

The Heat struggled with injuries and inconsistencies in the regular season, so they didn't finish above the NBA Play-In Tournament spots. But they are also one of only a handful of teams capable of pulling off upsets with their "Heat Culture" and next man up mentality.