Cavs guard Darius Garland sets a return date from injury

Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star guard Darius Garland will likely miss the start of the season, but he told reporters when he can be expected back.

Sep 29, 2025; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland (10) during media day at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

When Darius Garland injured his toe against the Miami Heat in the first round of the Eastern Conference, the Cleveland Cavaliers' season fell apart. 

Garland returned in the next playoff series against Indiana, but he did not look like himself. Garland started three of the five games against the Pacers, putting up 14.0 ppg, 4.0 apg, while only shooting 34% from the floor and 16.7% from three. Darius was not nearly at full strength, and it showed. 

It was revealed shortly after the series on June 9th that the Cavs star would undergo “great toe surgery” and will be sidelined for “4-5 months," according to Shams Charania of ESPN.

Cleveland Cavaliers star Darius Garland underwent surgery to repair great toe injury and will be sidelined approximately 4 to 5 months. pic.twitter.com/rk7RH912tF

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 9, 2025

This news was not surprising to Cavs fans at all, who had been watching the series as they saw Garland struggle to accelerate or get past defenders quickly. When this news was announced, the 4-5 month timeline would put the return date between October 9th and November. While we know the surgery was a success, we have not received many updates regarding the return date. Except for today, when Darius spoke to the media for the Cavaliers media day. 

While this press conference was optimistic in the fact that Garland has been doing “everything on the court right now” and that he’s been doing that for “for the past month.”

Darius Garland says he has a return date in mind and has been "doing everything on the court" for the past month. pic.twitter.com/KRBkbNJwV7

— SleeperCavs (@SleeperCleCavs) September 29, 2025

 The more vague part is the exact date for his return, as he said, “I don’t have a date yet, that I’m gonna tell y’all,” and then added, “I have a date in my mind.”

When asked if he was going to miss any of the regular season, Garland said, “I don’t know yet, we’ll see.”

When the injury initially occurred in March of this year, Garland only missed a couple of games before reaggregating the toe against the Heat. While trying to play through the injury against the Pacers, Garland said that he played with a spacer in between his toes and a steel plate.

“I definitely wasn’t myself out there, it was pretty uncomfortable,” Garland said.

As some fans may have questioned the severity of the injury before receiving the full details, it should now be clearer to them, allowing for a better understanding. Waiting for Garland to come back at full strength should be a priority for the Cavaliers, as they did prepare for this possibility that he would miss some time by trading for Lonzo Ball, drafting Tyrese Proctor, and signing Killian Hayes recently.