Italy’s worst fears have been confirmed when an MRI scan yesterday showed that Danilo Gallinari has an ACL tear in his left knee.
Gallinari will miss the remainder of the NBA season and will miss Italy’s Eurobasket campaign. A date for his return hasn’t been set but the forward looks certain to miss at least six months of action.
The injury, suffered while Gallinari was in action for the Denver Nuggets against the Dallas Mavericks is similar to the injuries suffered by Chicagao Bulls star Derrick Rose, New York Knicks’ Iman Shumpert and Minnesota Timberwolves’ Ricky Rubio, all of whom returned to action with the latter declaring his intentions to play at this summer’s Eurobasket for Spain.
Gallinari’s MRI showed no signs of additional ligament damage or meniscus damage and surgery will be scheduled at a later date.
The Italian averaged 16.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists this season with the Denver Nuggets.
Italy are housed in Group D where they will face off against Turkey, Finland, Greece, Russia and Sweden.
