Mavericks fans make tough Kyrie Irving injury realization that has always been true

In early March of last season, the Dallas Mavericks were hit with a nightmare as Kyrie Irving tore his ACL, simultaneously ending the Mavs' chances of making a playoff run. Ever since Irving went down, there have been different return timetables reported, including the possibility that he returns by January, but Irving recently cleared the air in a clip from one of his streams that resurfaced about when he will be playing once again.

Irving made it clear that he doesn't plan to rush back from this injury by any means, as he just wants to come back "150,000 percent better." He refused to confirm or deny whether he would return by the 2026 NBA Playoffs, and while Mavericks fans are panicking after these comments, they are slowly starting to realize something about Irving's ACL injury that has been obvious all along.

It's impossible to know when Irving will return from tearing his ACL just over four months after it happened, and Mavericks fans must be patient during the recovery process.

Mavericks fans have it all wrong about Kyrie Irving's ACL injury timeline

The reports that Irving could return by January surfaced just over two weeks after he got injured, and that type of timeline seemed premature from the moment it was reported. Irving is working hard to get back onto the floor, as he is doing everything that he needs to do throughout the recovery process to come back stronger than before, but this process could take longer than initially expected.

With Irving being a 33-year-old guard who is just 6-foot-2, there is no reason to rush him back, and he has made it clear that he won't be rushing back. He is going to take his time as he recovers from the most devastating injury of his career, and Mavs fans should have expected nothing less.

Irving is known for taking his time when recovering from injuries, and he has every right to do just that. Dallas just signed Irving to a new three-year contract, and them rushing him back during the first year of his new contract would have been a disaster.

Irving would have been at a high risk of re-injuring his knee, which could have jeopardized the rest of his career while the Mavs would have been in danger of rushing another player back from injury. Last season, Dallas was under fire for the way their medical department handled certain situations, including misdiagnosing Dereck Lively II's stress fracture as an ankle sprain and rushing a face of the franchise back from an ACL tear would have been an awful look.

All of the buzz surrounding Irving and his comments regarding his return to the floor has been blown out of proportion, and quite honestly, nothing has changed in that department. He was always going to take his time when recovering from this injury, and he is only going to come back when he is more than sure that he is ready to play.

Irving always wants to be the best version of himself on and off the floor, and that won't change after dealing with the setback of one of the worst injuries an athlete can suffer. He is locked in on coming back stronger than before, and Mavs fans' patience will be tested throughout this process.

The Mavericks signed D'Angelo Russell for a reason, as they were well aware that Irving would miss serious time and needed a stopgap replacement, and he could end up playing a much bigger role than expected considering Irving's return timeline is unknown. Russell is going to be ready for the challenge of playing an increased role, and Irving will be cheering him and the rest of the team on from the sidelines as he goes through the "beautiful struggle" of rehabbing a torn ACL.