Darius Garland has missed the Cleveland Cavaliers’ last three games due to a lingering back injury. The Cavs have not provided a firm timetable for his return, but recent developments should get Cleveland fans excited as the All-Star point guard closes is on his return to action.
Garland took part in the Cavs’ shootaround on Wednesday morning in preparation for their matchup against LaMelo Ball and the Charlotte Hornets. This bodes well for Garland’s chances of potentially suiting up for Wednesday’s game (h/t Chris Fedor of cleveland.com):
The Cavs listed Garland as questionable for the Hornets game on the official injury report, which is an upgrade from his status for the past three games he’s missed since the All-Star break. There’s no guarantee that the 22-year-old will actually play, but the fact that he’s been tagged as questionable means that there’s a chance that he will.
You have to note, however, that Garland also did some work in shootaround on Monday. However, he still ended up missing Cleveland’s game on that day — a 127-122 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. He looked pretty good, though:
Even if Garland missed Wednesday’s bout, he should be able to return to action sooner rather than later. His next chance to come back will be on Friday in a marquee matchup against the red-hot Philadelphia 76ers. That’s going to be quite a contest between two of the top contenders in the East and obviously, the Cavs will want to get their star point guard back for that one. This becomes even more relevant considering how Cleveland just conceded the fourth spot in the East to the Milwaukee Bucks following the Cav’s loss to the Timberwolves.
Be that as it may, it was previously reported that the Cavs will be managing Garland’s back problem for the remainder of the season. It sounds like this is a lingering problem that he will be forced to play through the rest of the way. As such, it would not be surprising if the 6-foot-1 guard ends up being given an occasional night off, particularly whenever there are back-to-back sets for the Cavs.
