INDIANAPOLIS — Pacers All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton appeared in a co-host role on the Pat McAfee Show on Thursday and gave updates on his recovery from his Achilles tendon tear and his bout with shingles and weighed in on a variety of other topics throughout the show.
Haliburton most recently met with the media in an exit interview on April 13, the day after the Pacers’ season ended. At that point, he said he wasn’t even noticing pain in his right leg after tearing his Achilles tendon in Game 7 of the NBA Finals last June, but he was still very much in pain and taking a lot of medication due to shingles. Shingles is a viral infection that causes a painful rash, and it is the reactivation of the varicella-zoster virus which causes chickenpox. Haliburton’s case affected his face and head and it hit him at the end of the All-Star break and threw off his Achilles recovery significantly.
Haliburton suggested Thursday, however, that he’s made progress over the last four weeks.
“I was starting to play 5-on-5 and then got shingles and that kinda stopped things for like three weeks,” Haliburton said. “That kinda halted things for a little bit but I’m getting back there now. I just started playing 5-on-5 as the summer’s going on. We’ve got a little team mini-camp here in a couple weeks. I’ll be full-go for that. It sucked for a little bit, but I’m good now.”
Haliburton was asked if he’s dealing with any issues mentally getting on the floor with the potential for injuring it again. He said he isn’t but acknowledged that he doesn’t feel like himself yet and he’s especially struggled on the defensive end.
“Defensively I can tell I’m a step behind,” Haliburton said. “I’m not a great defender already. But I’m playing against interns and I’m like, ‘Why is this guy… he’s frying me a little bit here.’ It’s just the process of planting and turning, those things. Offensively, when I’m in control of my movements, I feel great. Defensively, when I’m reacting to others, that’s where it’s going to get better as time moves on.”
Haliburton was also asked for his thoughts on the addition of center Ivica Zubac.
“He brings a different dynamic than we’ve had in the past,” Haliburton said. “I think you guys are going to like Big Zu a lot.”
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: The latest update on when Tyrese Haliburton will return to the court
Reporting by Dustin Dopirak, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
