Fred VanVleet Targets Preseason Return After Year-Long ACL Rehab
fred-vanvleet-targets-preseason-return-after-year-long-acl-rehab
Houston Rockets guard Fred VanVleet said he expects to be on the floor when the club opens its preseason schedule in October, capping a 10-month recovery from a torn right ACL and meniscus.
Speaking last week with Erik Horne of Andscape in Las Vegas, the 32-year-old acknowledged the mental strain of the rehab process that sidelined him for the entire 2025/26 campaign, including Houston’s first-round playoff loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
“I’ll be very disappointed if I’m not playing in the preseason,” VanVleet told Andscape, adding that the absence of competition left him “humbled and eye-opening” after years of daily basketball routines. The veteran guard has been training every day and compared the comeback process to feeling “like a rookie again.”
VanVleet exercised his $25 million player option in June, keeping him under contract for the 2026/27 season. Despite missing the postseason, he remains bullish on Houston’s long-term prospects, telling Horne, “We can win a championship next year,” while noting the team still has “a lot of work to do.”
Undrafted out of Wichita State, VanVleet won an NBA title with the Toronto Raptors in 2019 and earned his lone All-Star selection in 2021/22.
Source: Hoops Rumors
