Heat’s Tyler Herro cleared to return to game action: ‘I just had to get healthy’
.JPG "Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro (14) warms up before the first half of a game against the Dallas Mavericks on Nov. 24, 2025, at Kaseya Center in Miami.")
With the Miami Heat set to play its 37th game of the regular season Tuesday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center, Heat guard Tyler Herro is preparing to play in his seventh game of the season.
Herro, who has missed 30 of the Heat’s first 36 games, will be available and is expected to play in his first game Tuesday against the Timberwolves since Dec. 9.
Herro’s expected return comes after not playing in 11 consecutive games and also missing 13 of the last 14 games because of a right big toe contusion he sustained in the Heat’s road loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Dec. 3. After missing two straight games because of the toe injury following that loss to the Mavericks, Herro took a Toradol shot to play in the Heat’s Dec. 9 NBA Cup loss to the Orlando Magic and hasn’t played since.
“I just had to get healthy, that’s about it. Get my body right, get my health intact,” Herro said following Tuesday’s morning shootaround in Minneapolis of his road back to game action.
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Heat coach Erik Spoelstra added Tuesday on Herro: “Well, he’s definitely put in the work, not only with the rehab in the training room, but also the ramp up to prepare his body. Sometimes there are unpredictable things, things that you can’t control. But he’s in a great place right now, and we’re excited to have him back.”
Herro underwent two MRIs on his injured toe in December, and both came back clean other than showing a contusion.
“It was keeping me from playing basketball, and now I can play basketball,” Herro, 25, said of his toe.
Does Herro expect to be 100% in his return?
“We’ll see, I don’t really know. We’ll see how tonight goes,” said Herro, who also missed the first 17 games of the season due to left ankle surgery he underwent in September.
While there won’t be a strict minutes restriction on Herro in his return Tuesday, Spoelstra made clear that Herro “will not be playing 38 minutes tonight.” Spoelstra wouldn’t reveal whether he plans to start Herro in his first game in nearly a month.
Herro was available and in uniform for Sunday’s home loss to the New Orleans Pelicans, but he didn’t play. Spoelstra explained the decision to have Herro in uniform despite knowing he wouldn’t play on Sunday as a move “to get the mind-set ready for the next step.”
“I don’t know, that was my first time,” Herro said of being in uniform but not playing on Sunday. “Not used to it, but it’s cool.”
Herro has averaged 23.2 points per game on 50.5% shooting from the field, 40.5% shooting from three-point range and 92.3% shooting from the foul line in his first six appearances this season. The Heat is 3-3 in the first six games that Herro has played in.
“I’m excited to have him back in the fold, in the lineup,” Heat guard Norman Powell said of Herro. “He’s a tremendous player, a tremendous talent. He’s going to help us be the team that we want to be, being able to finally get fully healthy and see what we have. Guys can get comfortable with the rotation and how we want to play. We’ve seen what he can do in the few games that he has played. So hopefully him being back is going to be back for the full season, and we can fully get cooking.”
While the Heat is getting Herro back on Tuesday, the Heat will be without sixth man Jaime Jaquez Jr. Guard Terry Rozier also remains away from the team following his October arrest, but the rest of Miami’s roster is expected to be available against the Timberwolves.
Jaquez will miss his second straight game with a sprained right ankle, but he is with the team in Minneapolis for Tuesday’s contest.
“Jaime is here for a reason, but he’s not ready tonight,” Spoelstra said. “We’ll treat him day to day. And Pelle [Larsson] is available, so we’re getting closer. We’re excited about this, getting close to our full unit.”
Meanwhile, the Timberwolves could be missing their best player against the Heat on Tuesday. Timberwolves star guard Anthony Edwards has been added to the injury report, as he’s now questionable for the contest due to right foot injury maintenance.
