Kyrie Irving’s comeback was pushed back by a further eight weeks when, late in his rehabilitation from the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear he suffered in March 2025, he sustained a grade 2 muscle strain in December 2025. The 34-year-old is in Macao, China, with the Dallas Mavericks, who play two preseason games there against the Houston Rockets. Irving said the December setback completely rewrote his recovery timeline, so he devoted extra time to getting his body fully right. “I didn’t want to have to go through any of these things physically again,” the guard said of the ordeal.
Irving himself dismissed media reports that team owner Patrick Dumont had held back his return until last season’s 5 February trade deadline to let Anthony Davis and Cooper Flagg build their on-court chemistry. He explained that the delay was down solely to his health. Head coach Dusty May confirmed that Irving will play in only one of the two games in Macao.
