To recover a deleted VMDK file:

If you're comfortable with the ESXi command-line interface, you can use tools like vmfs-fuse and dd to recover deleted VMDK files.

: If you have a snapshot of the VM taken before the deletion, you can use the Snapshot Manager in the vSphere Client to revert the VM to its previous state.

This is the most reliable way to recover a fully deleted disk image.

: You can use the vmkfstools command to recreate the descriptor based on the size of the flat file. Method 2: Restoring from Snapshots or Backups