Tyrese Halliburton has struggled with a bout of shingles during his season lost to an Achilles injury.
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.
