Pacers Still Have No Timeline for Tyrese Haliburton’s Return

Tyrese Haliburton is doing well in his recovery from a left hamstring strain, Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said.

Haliburton stayed in Indianapolis while the Pacers traveled to Mexico City for Saturday's game against the Denver Nuggets at Arena CDMX. He is listed as out for the 5 p.m. ET tip-off, which will be his sixth straight missed game. On Friday, Carlisle said staying home was "better for his rehab."

Carlisle said Haliburton is in a hyperbaric chamber every day.

"He's making great progress," Carlisle said. "I don't know a timetable. ... The timetable is uncertain."

Haliburton returned on opening night, 486 days after he tore his right Achilles tendon in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals, and played in each of Indiana's first four games. He averaged 21.8 points and 9.5 assists.

The Pacers opened the season with four games in six nights, all in different cities. The fourth came Oct. 26 in Milwaukee on the second night of a back-to-back, and Haliburton rode an exercise bike while he was on the bench. He had 22 points and nine assists in a 110-102 loss after Indiana let a double-digit lead get away.

What was beat up, Haliburton said after the game, was his overall body.

"I'm alright. A little beat up," Haliburton said.

He showed up on the NBA's injury report the next day with left hamstring soreness and tightness. On Oct. 28, Carlisle told 107.5 The Fan's morning show that he hoped the hamstring would not turn into a long-term problem.

"There's an expert that we consult with who's a hamstring expert," Carlisle said. "And we have our trainers and Tyrese and I think some of our management people. I'll be in the middle of our prep stuff, so I won't be on it. That's around 4:15 this afternoon, and then we'll have more information. Right now, it's uncertain."

About an hour after that meeting, Carlisle told reporters the strain was mild and that Haliburton would be listed as week-to-week. He added that a return within two weeks was unrealistic.

Haliburton has had trouble with that hamstring before. A Grade 1 strain in January 2024 cost him multiple games, and he reinjured it during the 2024 Eastern Conference finals. He left a January 2025 game against Cleveland with left hamstring tightness and sat out one more game.

Indiana lost that 2025 Game 7 at Oklahoma City. The Pacers went 19-63 in 2025-26 while Haliburton rehabbed the Achilles.

Soft-tissue injuries have followed Haliburton for the last year and a half to two years.

"I think just the way we prepared through the summer, tracking our load management stuff," Haliburton said at the start of training camp. "Obviously dealt with a lot of soft tissue stuff over the last year and a half, two years. So just trying to manage all those things the correct way."

Indiana has gone 1-4 since he went down. Losses to Philadelphia, Miami, Brooklyn, and Atlanta came first. Haliburton was still out when Ivica Zubac and Obi Toppin returned on Wednesday, and the Pacers beat the Memphis Grizzlies 107-103 to end a five-game skid.

Point guard T.J. McConnell is available Saturday after missing Indiana's first nine games with a right hamstring strain. Quenton Jackson, Larry Nance Jr., and Aaron Nesmith have also missed time with hamstring problems this season.

After Mexico City, Indiana plays the Dallas Mavericks on Monday at 8 p.m. ET in Dallas. The Pacers return home Wednesday to face Washington.