Officially ruled out of EuroBasket play per Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia, Boston Celtics veteran forward Danilo Gallinari took to his Instagram to react to his meniscal tear sustained with the Italian National Team on Saturday afternoon in the final frame of a FIBA World Cup qualifying match against the National Team of Georgia.
Gallo avoided a more serious injury involving his surgically-repaired left ACL. Still, he was clearly upset about not being able to continue playing for Italy this summer as a result of the meniscal tear diagnosis following an MRI Sunday morning. It confirmed the lesser, but still impactful, injury that could see him miss several weeks to multiple months depending on the damage.
“It hurts like hell,” admitted the Celtics swingman on Instagram (translated from Italian).
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— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) August 28, 2022
“Not so much the knee that gave in yesterday’s game that (Italy) won again in character,” related Gallinari.
“That will take some time – fortunately less than expected – to get back to normal. It (expletive) hurts to give up this dream. We wanted to treat ourselves to magical nights. In my own house. In our house. Unfortunately, today was a bad awakening. At the Milan clinic where I was accompanied by the professor. Cortina and from all the medical staff the results of the clinical findings have arrived: meniscus injury. Gotta give it up #EuroBasket. Just in a summer that seemed perfect. We need to accept fate and look forward.”
“I will be alongside this group in every game to give joy to thousands of Italians this summer,” he added. “Our journey continues, regardless of what happens… Come on Azzurri!”
Shams: Boston Celtics swingman Danilo Gallinari suffers meniscal tear in left knee https://t.co/vGbpOkeokX
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) August 28, 2022
A second ACL tear this late in his career might have been the end of his time in the NBA, never mind with the Celtics, so as crushing as the blow is for Gallo’s EuroBasket hopes might have been, at least it wasn’t worse.
Now, we wait for news of just how bad the “better” option is, but at least there are better odds we see the Italian swingman back in action soon than it initially looked.
Just when you thought they were gone, they return as a potentially helpful tool to finish Boston’s roster for 2022-23. https://t.co/1kUvhEX7Sm
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) August 28, 2022
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