Tyrese Haliburton out against Hawks with mild ankle tweak; Carlisle says MRI looks good

Tyrese Haliburton will miss Indiana’s October 10 preseason game against the Atlanta Hawks after a mild right-ankle injury, Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said before the game. Carlisle described the MRI results as encouraging and said the guard’s Achilles looked good.

According to Alex Golden’s report from Carlisle’s pregame availability, Haliburton sustained the ankle tweak in Indiana’s preseason opener against Minnesota at Iowa State. He was limited in the next practice but was improving each day.

Ankle update, not a reported Achilles setback

“They did an MRI of this, and everything looks really good,” Carlisle said. “The Achilles looks great.” Those comments distinguish the current ankle issue from the Achilles injury that kept Haliburton out last season. They do not mean he has already been cleared to play.

Rick Carlisle says Tyrese Haliburton will not play in tonight’s game versus the Atlanta Hawks after “sustaining a mild tweak of the right ankle” against the Minnesota Timberwolves in Ames, Iowa.

“He was limited yesterday in practice,” Carlisle said. “Did an MRI and everything… pic.twitter.com/cCkcCe8EGd

— Alex Golden (@AlexGoldenNBA) October 10, 2026

A possible return, not a firm date

Carlisle said the team hopes Haliburton can practice Monday and play Tuesday. If he is not ready for that game, the coach said Indiana would work toward Friday instead. Grant Afseth’s report identifies those remaining preseason games as the October 13 trip to Oklahoma City and the October 16 home game against Milwaukee.

Haliburton played 16 minutes in the preseason opener, finishing with seven points and six assists. For now, the immediate decision is to sit him against Atlanta while he works through the ankle issue; neither of the remaining exhibition dates is a guaranteed return.