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Cavs injury news: Cavaliers point guard Darius Garland undergoes surgery to repair big toe
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- Cavs injury news: Cavaliers point guard Darius Garland undergoes surgery to repair big toe
Cavaliers All-Star point guard Darius Garland underwent successful surgery on June 9 to repair a sprained left big toe, the Cavs announced.
The Cavs stated Garland's status will be updated after a progression of treatment and rehabilitation in about four to five months. He's expected to make a full recovery and resume basketball activities by the start of training camp, according to the team's statement. The 2025-26 NBA season is set to begin in late October, so Garland may miss time.
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Garland missed four consecutive playoff games with the injury. He suffered the sprain during the regular season and aggravated it April 23 in Game 2 of a first-round sweep against the Miami Heat . He missed two games against the Heat and two more in the Cavs' 4-1 second-round series loss to the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder are tied 1-1 in the NBA Finals.
Garland, 25, struggled while pushing through the injury in the playoffs. He appeared in five postseason games and averaged 18 points on 42% shooting from the field (28.6% on 3-pointers), 5.2 assists, 2.2 rebounds and 29.6 minutes. For the sake of comparison, in the 2024-25 regular season, he played in 75 of 82 games and averaged 20.6 points on 47.2% shooting from the floor (40.1% on 3s), 6.7 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 30.7 minutes.
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After the Cavs were eliminated by the Pacers, Garland opened up about the challenges his toe issue presented.
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"A toe injury, playing with a spacer in between my toes, playing with a steel plate, but I'm trying to be out there for my guys," he said. "I'm trying to win a series, trying to win the games, trying to do as much as I can, just to put our team in the best position to win. I definitely wasn't myself out there. It was pretty uncomfortable, but, like I said, trying to do anything to win the game."
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland reacts during Game 3 of a second-round playoff series against the Indiana Pacers on May 9, 2025, in Indianapolis, Indiana.
The fifth overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, Garland knew some fans and media members had criticized him for missing playoff games.
"Everybody's going to have an opinion," Garland said. "I know what I was going through physically. ... A lot of y'all don't know what I was going through physically, and a lot of y'all probably wouldn't even go out there and play. And that's what I did with my teammates, and they wanted me out there. I wanted to be out there, and that's what it was."
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Here is the full statement from the Cavs regarding Garland's surgery:
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland underwent successful surgery today to repair his great toe injury. The procedure was performed by Dr. Nicholas Strasser at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, in consultation with Cavaliers team doctor, Dr. James Rosneck (Cleveland Clinic Sports Medicine), and Dr. Bob Anderson (OrthoCarolina). His status will be updated as appropriate, following a progression of treatment and rehabilitation in approximately 4-5 months. Garland is expected to make a full recovery and resume basketball activities by the start of training camp.
Nate Ulrich is the sports columnist of the Akron Beacon Journal and a sports features writer. Nate can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com . On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich .
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cavs All-Star Darius Garland has surgery to repair big toe
