How Caitlin Clark is helping Tyrese Haliburton to overcome his injury

Tyrese Haliburton, the standout point guard for the Indiana Pacers, is embracing a patient approach to his recovery after suffering a torn Achilles tendon during the first quarter of Game 7 in the 2025 NBA Finals.

At just two months post-surgery, Haliburton is focusing on small milestones, as he revealed in a recent public appearance.

“I’m walking in my boot, getting closer to walking full time in my shoe, so that’s exciting,” he said. “Every couple of weeks, it’s kind of a new benchmark, a new achievement. So it’s the small wins right now. There are good days, bad days, so every day is kind of Groundhog Day. I’m just trying to get well.”

"I think it’s good to have each other to lean on right now"

He’s sharing his rehabilitation process at Indiana Pacers Athletic Center with Indiana Fever’s two-time WNBA All-Star, Caitlin Clark. The 23-year-old hasn’t played since July 15 due to an injury she suffered to her right groin.

“It sucks she’s been hurt as long as she has, but for us to be able to communicate, even with her recovery we lift at the same time so it’s like just us two in the weight room,” Haliburton explained. “I wish she was playing, but I think it’s good to have each other to lean on right now.”

Three Pacers stars — Haliburton, Isaiah Jackson and James Wiseman — are all out with the same injury, which Haliburton previously put down to “bad luck”, saying: "Everybody thinks we play too many games, we play too many minutes -- all those things could be true, but I don’t think that is what’s causing these injuries. So I don’t think that anybody has necessarily the answer,” Haliburton admitted. “I think injuries are just bad luck sometimes and that’s just what happened. I think that’s just what happens in sports sometimes.”

“We’ve kind of got a little bit of an Achilles group in our own locker room,” Haliburton said more recently. “It means the world to me because you get tired of complaining to the trainers. You know they’re just doing their job, they’re doing everything they can. But sometimes being able to talk, complain, to those guys means a lot.”

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On the plus side, at least the time away from the court has given Haliburton more time to catch up on the Marvel movies...

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