INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — The Cleveland Cavaliers are nearing the start of their 2025-26 season, taking off to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, in less than a week to start training camp. As they do, All-Star guard Darius Garland will not only be joining them, but taking the court for some limited work as he recovers from a toe injury he had surgery on this summer.
Garland was dealing with a big toe injury at the end of last season that saw him miss the final two games of the regular season and four playoff games. After the Cavs were eliminated by the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference semifinals, Garland was recommended surgery on his injured toe, which he underwent in June.
Over the last few months, Garland has been rehabbing to get back as soon as he can, which Cavs president of basketball operations Koby Altman said has shown up big in the weight room.
"It's going to sound counterintuitive because he was hurt, but he had a really good offseason, only because he focused on the things that we've been talking about for a long time, which is weight room strength. And because he couldn't touch a basketball for a month, he had to just lift. And so he's stronger, he's more stout, he has a great attitude," Altman said on Tuesday during his preseason media availability.
In August, Garland held his inaugural Celebrity Softball Game in Eastlake, and while he didn't play in the game, he was on his feet, moving well and even took some swings. Altman said that since then, Garland has been back on the courts participating in some basketball activities.
That progression is expected to continue at training camp.
"The toe looks good, he feels good. We're certainly not going to put a timetable on it, but he's going to start to participate in limited team activities in training camp. Very limited. And I think for him, the biggest thing is how do we start to ramp him up from a conditioning standpoint," Altman said.
Garland will be eased back to team activities and is still expected to miss games to start the season, but the Cavs are happy with the guard's recovery and where he's at in the process of returning to game action.
"He looks good. He's joining us today back in Cleveland. He's been in Cleveland multiple times this summer. I think he's had a really good offseason from a strength perspective," Altman said.
