Darius Garland’s Devastating Toe Surgery Expected to Sideline him 4-5 Months

On Monday, Darius Garland had toe surgery to repair the toe injury that he suffered in the 2025 NBA playoffs, and ESPN’s Shams Charania is reporting that he’s going to be out 4-5 months due to the severity of the rehab required with this surgery. This surgery on his big toe is going to cost him the start to his 2025-26 season, which is a season that is going to be important for the Cleveland Cavaliers, as after having a disappointing Eastern Conference Semifinals defeat at the hands of the Indiana Pacers. 

Garland’s injury

Garland had the injury in the first round of the playoffs against the Miami Heat, and you can tell when he came back from the injury in the second round of the playoffs against the Pacers that he was hobbled. It was the worst-case scenario for the Cavaliers against that Pacers team; not to have Garland at a hundred percent against that fast-paced Pacers team was devastating, as the Pacers won that series in an easy five games. It was unfortunate for Cavaliers fans, and now this news on the surgery is even worse, as now it will be past the start of the season before he comes back, most likely with that timeline diagnosis provided by Shams. 

Final Thoughts

Look for the Cavaliers to make some moves this offseason around the injury of Garland, now with that surgery putting him on the shelf to start the new season in October. There’s a slight possibility he could play at the start, but the more likely outcome is that he plays in November based on the timeline. As Bleacher Report mentioned in their article about the injury, he is a rumored trade candidate at this current moment in time as well. Total Apex Sports will have more NBA stories throughout the rest of the year.