Rockets rumors: Fred VanVleet ‘not necessarily’ out for season despite ACL injury

All things considered, the Houston Rockets are doing just fine so far in the 2025-26 NBA season. But they could be doing better if star point guard Fred VanVleet is available to see action.

The former Wichita State Shockers star suffered a torn ACL injury just before the start of the campaign. He was expected to miss the entire 2025-26 season due to the nature of his injury, but is there a chance he fully recovers just in time to suit up and play before the end of the current campaign?

That appears to be a possibility, according to NBA insider Marc Stein.

Per Stein, “word is VanVleet is working as hard as possible in his rehab from the injury to at least put a late-season return on the table.”

Back in October, VanVleet said that there was no exact timetable for his return and that “we’ll see where we’re at by the end of the year.”

With the calendar flipping from 2025 to 2026, it seems that VanVleet has made enough progress for speculations about a potential return to action sometime before the 2025-26 season concludes.

Without the 31-year-old VanVleet, the Rockets have relied mostly on Amen Thompson and Reed Sheppard to handle the point guard duties for the Rockets, while big man Alperen Sengun is leading the team in terms of assists with 6.5 dimes a game through Sunday. In the 2024-25 season, VanVleet led the Rockets with 5.6 assists per contest, while averaging 14.1 points on a 37.8 percent shooting from the field and 34.5 percent shooting from behind the arc.

The Rockets are 21-11 so far in the season, good for fourth in the Western Conference standings.

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