Tyrese Haliburton says it's shingles, not Achilles recovery, that will test him this offseason

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton was prepared to spend this past NBA season in the shadows, fighting his way back from a torn right Achilles tendon.

He never anticipated the long journey back would take a detour because of a bout with shingles.

On Monday, one day after the Pacers completed a 19-win season without their two-time All-Star ever suiting up, Haliburton told reporters that while he's ready to return from the injury, it's the illness that he will contend with this offseason. It has caused him to gain weight, lose part of his right eyebrow and forced him to wear eyeglasses to avoid scratching his swollen eye.

“First of all, I'd tell anybody over 50 years old to get the shot," Haliburton said. "It's been miserable. I have good days and bad days, but for the most part it's been bad days. I've been taking unbelievable amounts of medication to try to get rid of it. It hasn't worked. It's not been fun and hopefully it goes away soon. It's hard to really tell with nerve pain, but I've been dealing now with nerve pain for two months and in the world of nerve pain, that's not very long. Hopefully, it goes away soon.”

Anyone who’s had chickenpox harbors that virus for the rest of their life. It hides in nerves and can break out when the immune system weakens from illness or age, causing painful, blister-like sores typically on one side of the body that last for weeks.

About 1 in 3 Americans will get shingles, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While most recover, it sometimes causes severe complications. If it infects an eye it can cause vision loss. Up to 20% of shingles patients suffer excruciating nerve pain months or even years after the rash itself is gone.

While team officials wasted no time announcing last July the former Iowa State point guard would not play this season, Haliburton said his recovery was essentially tracking that of Boston Celtics All-Star Jayson Tatum, who tore his Achilles tendon last May, until the shingles diagnosis. Haliburton was injured in June, during Game 7 of the NBA Finals.

Tatum recently returned to game action and appears to be getting stronger by the day for the Eastern Conference's No. 2 seed.

Haliburton and his teammates, meanwhile, are heading home for a crucial summer that could determine whether the Pacers can continue to be a title contender when Haliburton returns.

The good news from Haliburton is that he has no doubts about his lower right leg being healthy. Instead, he's just trying to get over this illness that delayed his return to five-on-five workouts until last week.

“I'm out of shape like crazy, like I never have been before,” Haliburton said. "I've changed my medication a bunch of times. I've gotten a Botox injection I thought would help, it hasn't really helped. I've done everything, it just hasn't worked yet. But I'm confident it goes away soon."

Most people figured losing Haliburton for an entire season would derail the title hopes of last year's Eastern Conference champs. Still, as training camp opened, team officials bristled at the thought of describing this as a “gap season,” awaiting Haliburton's return.

An early season rash of injuries to additional starters and key rotational players, coupled with a 1-13 start, quickly changed the equation and not to everyone's satisfaction.

“It was tough, just tough mentally going through that,” four-time All-Star Pascal Siakam said Sunday. “It was hard trying to get through it, find positive things, trying to continue to improve, trying to find ways to win games. It was pretty bad. It sucked.”

Haliburton felt similarly, yet at the urging of coach Rick Carlisle, continued to attend team meetings, film sessions and workouts. In the locker room, he helped counsel teammates about their injury battles while encouraging younger players to make improvements.

“Once I get off that (medication) and start running a little more, I have no worries,” Haliburton said. “I've got a long summer ahead of me — we're only in April and the season doesn't start till October. So I don't really have any concerns. I can't wait till I get out there and play and compete with my guys.”

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