Shingles Altered Achilles Rehab For Pacers Star Tyrese Haliburton, But He’s Back On The Court

CLEVELAND, OHIO - APRIL 05: Tyrese Haliburton #0 of the Indiana Pacers practices before the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Arena on April 05, 2026, in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)

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INDIANAPOLIS – Tyrese Haliburton was never going to play for the Indiana Pacers this season. President of Basketball Operations Kevin Pritchard said so in July of 2025. Haliburton himself said in August he wasn’t rushing his recovery and wouldn’t return until he was 100% healthy.

The Pacers 2025-26 season came to an end on Sunday night with a dismal 19-63 record. Haliburton, as was stated, did not play at all. But his rehab from a torn Achilles suffered during Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals didn’t go exactly as planned after Haliburton came down with shingles during the All-Star break back in February.

He wasn’t with his team immediately after the break. Then his head coach, Rick Carlisle, revealed his shingles diagnosis in late February. “He’s come down with shingles, which is a very painful thing. He’ll likely be away from the team for at least two or three weeks as he recovers,” Carlisle said of Haliburton before calling it a unique situation.

Even without his on-court presence, it was a big loss for the Pacers. Haliburton ups the spirit of his team from the sidelines and behind the scenes. That was missing as Haliburton recovered.

How Did Shingles Impact Pacers Star Tyrese Haliburton?

The Pacers lost 16 games in a row with Haliburton re-joining the group in mid-March. The absence slowed his rehab, Carlisle explained. “He’s been limited because of this. He was making a lot of progress on the floor before it happened with conditioning. He was playing two-on-two, three-on-three, four-on-four,” he said of Haliburton. “Something like this happens, it takes you out of being on the court and sweating and those kinds of things. So we’ll have to see how long it takes for him to catch back up. There's no way to know a timetable.”

Haliburton stayed in the background for a few weeks after re-joining the team. He didn’t sit on the bench visible to fans until March 25 when the Pacers hosted the Los Angeles Lakers. “It’s great. He’s gone through a very difficult thing here,” Carlisle said of having Haliburton back on the sidelines that day. “Just having him back in the building is a great thing.”

Indiana Pacers' Tyrese Haliburton looks on from the bench during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Milwaukee Bucks, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash)

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Haliburton spoke to local reporters for the first time since Pacers media day on Monday and had a chance to discuss his shingles diagnosis, his time away from the team, and how it impacted his recovery from an Achilles tear. He revealed with a post on social media that he played five-on-five for the first time since the injury on April 8.

“This has sucked,” Haliburton said of having shingles. “A lot of people get [a rash] [on their stomach], but mine’s been on my face. So I couldn’t even go in front of a camera if I wanted to early because my eye was basically closed shut and it was all over my face.”

That would explain his absence from the bench. Haliburton had a rash, then he was itchy once it faded. That’s why Haliburton has been wearing glasses far more often over the past month, it helps him not touch his face and eyes.

He also lost part of his right eyebrow as a result, and his face was swollen for a time. Haliburton has taken steps to counter the virus, but it has impacted his body and recovery.

“I’m still honestly dealing with it. I’ve been taking unbelievable amounts of medication to try to get rid of it,” Haliburton said. “It hasn’t worked. It’s obviously caused me to gain weight and look a little bigger.”

He’s hoping everything, including the nerve pain, goes away soon since he’s been dealing with it for about two months. But there’s no way for him to know when the experience will end. Once it does, Haliburton believes he’ll have no issue getting back into shape and shedding his added weight, some of which came before his shingles diagnosis.

With medicine not quickly healing Haliburton, he tried getting a botox injection. So far, no success there. “[I’m] confident that hopefully it goes away soon,” he said.

Without shingles, Haliburton admitted he’d be farther along in his rehab. He’s approaching 10 months removed from the date he ruptured his Achilles, which is about how long it took Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum to return from his torn Achilles. “Him coming back in the time frame that he came back from, honestly, I was on that same timeline before shingles happened,” Haliburton shared.

Fortunately for Haliburton and the Pacers, he had no pressure to return since Indiana had a rough season and his injury happened in late June of 2025. But the recovery process hasn’t been easy, and it kept him away from the game he loves. Even with the setback, though, he’s ready to return for the 2026-27 season and keep guiding the Pacers.

“I definitely feel like I will be at the same level, if not better,” Haliburton said of his expected impact for the Pacers next season. He still has six months to recover before he gets to prove it.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com