With the Miami Heat coming off the All-Star break with practice on Thursday afternoon, the expectation is that a familiar face will return that could turn around the season. As the Heat are in the midst of an inconsistent season, it has also been a year filled with questions of what the team's ceiling really is with the bevy of injuries, especially to star Tyler Herro.
Herro had missed the last 15 games due to what Miami listed as “right costochondral; injury to the ribs,” as more information has come out via The Miami Herald about the injury. Suffering the injury in the team's Jan. 10 loss to the Indiana Pacers, Herro had played the next three games with the help of Toradol shots, but an MRI revealed the severity of the injury.
Fast forward to the present, Herro's return to playing games appears to be imminent, or in Anthony Chiang's words, “in the coming days.”
“According to a league source, Herro has been recovering from three fractured ribs after suffering a buckle rib fracture,” Chiang wrote.
“But Herro will soon make his return, as he’s expected to take part in Thursday’s practice and is expected to return to game action in the coming days, barring a setback,” Chiang continued.
Heat's Tyler Herro has the “resolve” to get through challenging season
While the timeline around the Heat guard had been unclear for a while, it has no doubt been a frustrating season for Herro, who, besides missing the last 15 games, has missed 45 total games this season out of 56. He was absent for the first 17 games of the season due to an offseason ankle surgery, as he would then miss 13 contests with a toe contusion, and then came the rib injury.
It has been challenging for Herro, but he has the “resolve” to get through everything, as head coach Erik Spoelstra echoed to ClutchPoints on Jan. 31.
“The one thing I do know about Tyler after spending so many years with him is he has resolve. He has grit. He fights through and focuses on the things that he can control…I've always admired that quality about him,” Spoelstra said.
No update on Herro, but would ask Erik Spoelstra about the disappointment from him missing close to 40 games with a myriad of injuries.
“The one thing I know about Tyler…is he has resolve…right now, it’s just getting healthy and they’ll put in the work…” #HeatNation pic.twitter.com/8egipXHHzI
— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) January 31, 2026
If there's one thing for sure, Miami could use Herro's offense with the team 29-27, putting them eighth in the East. Herro could return for the Heat on Friday against the Atlanta Hawks or Saturday when the team hosts the Memphis Grizzlies.
