Donovan Mitchell returns after eye injury absence

On Saturday, Donovan Mitchell made his return to the Cleveland Cavaliers lineup after missing one game with an eye injury, finishing with 27 points on 23 shot attempts in a five-point victory.

According to Jamal Collier of ESPN, the injury occurred earlier in the week when Mitchell accidentally collided with teammate Evan Mobley during practice.

“He was having issues last game, like blurry [vision],” said coach Kenny Atkinson. “It’s not like a scratched cornea, nothing dangerous, but we got to let it clear up.”

Mitchell had been managing the issue during Cleveland’s win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday, playing with a visibly bloodshot eye.

In that outing, he shot 4-of-14 from the field and scored 19 points across nearly 34 minutes on the court.

Central Notes: Mitchell, Tyson, Toppin, Harden https://t.co/lmE30hWsFo pic.twitter.com/dQNDPthaH6

— Hoops Rumors (@HoopsRumors) March 23, 2026