Cavs' Darius Garland Reportedly Could Make Season Debut vs. 76ers After Toe Injury
Cleveland Cavaliers star Darius Garland could return from offseason toe surgery as soon as Wednesday's matchup with the Philadelphia 76ers, ESPN's Shams Charania reported.
Garland will be upgraded on the Cavs' injury report ahead of Wednesday's 7 p.m. ET tip-off, according to Charania.
Garland has yet to play this season after undergoing surgery in June on his left big toe.
The Cavaliers have also been missing Max Strus, who underwent foot surgery in August, during their 4-3 start to the 2025-26 season.
Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson said Tuesday that Garland went through a full practice the day before the game, per Cavs reporter Danny Cunningham.
The team is waiting to see how he responds Wednesday morning before determining his status, per Cunningham.
Garland initially suffered his toe injury during a March 23 game at the Utah Jazz, although he ultimately missed just two of the Cavs' 11 remaining regular-season games.
He then re-aggravated the injury during Game 2 of the Cavaliers' first-round series against the Miami Heat.
Garland returned for Game 3 of the Cavs' second-round matchup with the Indiana Pacers, although he was visibly limited and put up just 11 points in his team's elimination Game 5 loss.
He later told reporters he had been playing with a spacer between his toes and a steel plate in his shoe.
The Cavaliers announced the completion of Garland's successful toe surgery in June. The team gave Garland a four-to-five-month rehabilitation timeline, and said he was "expected to make a full recovery and resume basketball activities by the start of training camp."
Garland has since progressed to joining the Cavs for pregame workouts in the early stretch of the season.
The Cavs have meanwhile fallen to seventh in the Eastern Conference after averaging the eighth-fewest points per game in the NBA so far this season.
That has been in part due to the absence of Garland at the point. Last season the Cavaliers averaged an offensive rating of 123.2 with Garland on the court, but fell to 114.8 with him on the sideline, per NBA.com.
Even if he's playing under a minutes restriction, Garland's return will be a huge boost for the Cavs' hopes of climbing back up the standings in the East.
