The Houston Rockets could potentially get a key contributor back in time for their playoff push.
Veteran guard Fred VanVleet suffered a torn ACL prior to training camp in September, and many assumed that the injury would cost VanVleet the entire 2025-26 campaign, but that might not necessarily be the case.
During a recent episode of his Unguarded podcast, VanVleet left the door open for a potential return to game action this season.
"I’m about five, five and a half months, almost six months now. So, I’m getting there. I’m getting stronger. I’m getting better. I’m moving around a lot better. I’m getting some good on-court workouts. I think a lot of the predictions of where I was going to be were made pre-surgery, so we’ve had to adjust that timeline as things go on," VanVleet said, via RealGM.
"But again, selfishly, I’m always going to keep my window open. I’m not going to come on here and tell you, ‘Oh, I’m not coming back,’ and then I come back like, ‘Oh, surprise.’ But I’m not ruling it out, and I’m not saying I’m coming back. I’m just rehabbing, I’m working on myself, and I keep that goal in mind because I’ve made such good progress."
The Rockets have been able to survive without VanVleet all season. They currently sit third in the standings in the Western Conference at 41-25. Only the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs are ahead of them in the standings. But, they would still obviously love to get VanVleet back for a stretch run.
In 60 games for Houston last season, VanVleet averaged 14.1 points, 5.6 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.6 steals per performance.
This story will be updated.
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