From the moment Patrick John Flueger’s leave of absence on Chicago PD began, fans have been anxiously waiting for his return to NBC’s crime drama. There was some hope that he would be back in time for the 2026 One Chicago crossover, but the stars did not align, leading Flueger to miss his first crossover during his 13 seasons on the show.
While Flueger did not return in time for the “Reckoning” crossover, his official return date has finally been confirmed, and it’s coming sooner than expected!
As confirmed via a newly released promo for Chicago PD season 13, episode 14, “Meant to Be,” Flueger will return as Ruzek on March 11 following a leave that kept him off the air for over four months!
Flueger last appeared onscreen in Chicago PD season 13, episode 5, “Miami,” which aired on October 29, 2025. Following the episode, Ruzek went missing in action with no update as to where he was for several weeks. It wasn’t until the show’s winter premiere in January that we finally got an update on Ruzek and his whereabouts.
In the winter premiere, it was revealed that Ruzek was unable to help with the case as there was a family emergency with his father, Bob Ruzek. In the following episode, Atwater revealed via a conversation with Platt that Ruzek was still out, as he was taking some personal time to be with his father.
After weeks of waiting, we’re now only days away from Flueger’s return to Chicago PD and it seems the show’s writers will be wasting no time in throwing him right back into the thick of things.
In the promo released after the One Chicago crossover, we see several shots of Ruzek in the episode, beginning with a quick scene in which he’s in the Intelligence Unit HQ gearing up to head out with Voight, Burgess, and Atwater. Seconds later, we see him on the scene with the rest of the Intelligence Unit, guns raised as they enter the scene.
Later, we see Ruzek outside holding a young child in his arms amid what appears to be the fallout of a fire of some kind. There is blood on Ruzek’s hands, suggesting perhaps the child was injured or the child’s parent might have been harmed, which is why Ruzek is comforting the child. We also see the reflection of flames in the vehicle directly behind the pair, suggesting perhaps there is a house or vehicle fire involved.
The one thing that will be interesting to see is whether the show acknowledges his absence in the recent batch of episodes upon his return. Given the storyline with his dad, we hope the show will work in some sort of acknowledgement, with Ruzek perhaps getting a warm welcome his first day back and the chance to quickly let us know how Bob is doing following his latest health scare.
Regardless of what goes down in the episode, we’re just happy to know that Ruzek will finally be back in action and that Flueger’s leave of absence is coming to an end. Chicago PD has not been the same without him, and we’ve missed his presence on the show immensely. It’ll be nice to finally have him back in the mix, and hopefully we won’t be without Ruzek again for the rest of the season!