Why Tyrese Haliburton will be away from the Pacers until March
Already sidelined by a torn Achilles, Indiana’s All-NBA point guard is now recovering from shingles and expected to be out at least several weeks.
Tyrese Haliburton has already been ruled out for the season as he rehabs from a torn Achilles tendon. Now, he’s dealing with something more.
Head coach Rick Carlisle revealed on Sunday, during his pre-game availability, that Haliburton has shingles. He’s expected to make a full recovery.
Shingles is a viral infection that causes a painful rash. Shingles can occur anywhere on your body. It is caused by the varicella-zoster virus — the same virus that causes chickenpox. After you’ve had chickenpox, the virus stays in your body for the rest of your life. Years later, the virus may reactivate as shingles.
Symptoms include intense pain, headache, fever, sensitivity to light, and fatigue.
Haliburton started to feel ill on his journey back from All-Star break, which he spent in Mexico. When he returned to Indianapolis, tests were done and came back positive for shingles.
“We certainly wish him a speedy recovery,” Carlisle said. “It’s a unique situation. But I’ve talked to him a few times and he’s always in a good mood. And so he’ll get through it. But trying to survive at a high level without a guy like that is extremely difficult.”
That’s significant because the Pacers’ All-NBA point guard will be away from the team for at least several weeks. Until last week at Washington, he had been on the bench for 54 of 55 games. The only game he opted out of was a return to Oklahoma City, the site of his injury.
This likely will keep him at home and away from the team until mid-March.